Department for Transport

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to introduce legislation relating to vehicles parked on pavements.

Jesse Norman: The Government has no current plans to introduce such legislation. In Greater London, parking on the pavement is already prohibited by default. In England outside London, local authorities may use Traffic Regulation Orders to restrict pavement parking where appropriate. In addition, the police have powers to issue fines for the criminal offences of obstruction and dangerous driving.

M11: Accidents

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many fatal accidents occurred on the M11 motorway section in the Harlow constituency in each year since 2010.

Jesse Norman: Number of fatal accidents on the M11 motorway for each year since 2010 in the Harlow constituency is as follows:2010 – 12011 – 02012 – 02013 – 02014 – 02015 – 02016 – 1

Cycling

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps are being taken to assist employers in encouraging employees to cycle to work.

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what further steps are being taken to encourage people to cycle to work.

Jesse Norman: The Government’s Cycle to Work scheme allows employers to loan bicycle and bicycle safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The Department has produced guidelines to encourage employers to take advantage of this scheme.The Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, published in April 2017, sets out the other steps the Government is taking to support cycling, and the funding available to improve local cycling provisions, provide safer cycle routes and increase cycle parking facilities.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Iain Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport,  what cost-benefit analysis his Department carried out on the measures to restrict pavement parking in the Pavement Parking Bill 2015.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport did not undertake a formal cost-benefit analysis of the measures contained in the Pavement Parking (Protection of Vulnerable Pedestrians) Bill 2015-16. The Department does not routinely undertake cost-benefit analysis of Private Members’ Bills.

Taxis: Disability

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of (a) disabled adult passengers, (b) adult passengers and (c)  adult passengers with mental health conditions who have used private hire vehicles as a result of living in areas not serviced by buses in each of the last 3 years.

Mr John Hayes: The Department for Transport does not hold data in a form that enables an estimation of the use of private hire vehicles by the individual groups identified.

Taxis: Passengers

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate the Government has made of the number of PHV passengers outside of London in 2015 who were (a) over 75 years old, (b) between 60 and 75 years old, (c) were blind or visually impaired, (d) had other disabilities, and (e) were children travelling without adult supervision.

Mr John Hayes: The Department for Transport does not hold data in a form that enables an estimation of the use of private hire vehicles by the individual groups identified.

Cycling

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to revise and reissue the national guidance document entitled Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 2/08).

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport is planning to revise and reissue this document in 2018. The Department is currently procuring the necessary technical expertise to take this important piece of work forward.

Great Western Rail Franchise

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reasons are for his decision to (a) award a 12 month franchise extension and (b) offer a potential two year additional direct award to GWR.

Paul Maynard: The reasons for this decision are set out in the Great Western Rail Franchise consultation document published on 29 November (in particular, the Executive Summary and paragraphs 3.11 to 3.14), available at www.gov.uk/dft. The principal reasons are to ensure that passengers get the best possible service while the current and forthcoming transformational upgrades to the Great Western franchise area are carried out, and to allow the enhanced service to bed in fully before running a competition for a new long-term franchise. This short period of “bedding in” will help to ensure that the next franchise competition attracts ambitious bids that deliver the best outcomes for passengers through the 2020s.

Department for Communities and Local Government

High Rise Flats: Fire Extinguishers

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of sprinklers in improving fire safety in tower blocks; and what steps he is taking to promote the retro-fitting of sprinkler systems in tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: It is for the responsible person to ensure that any existing residential building has the appropriate fire safety in place, which may include retro-fitting sprinklers. In 2013, the Department wrote to all local authorities and housing associations, asking them to consider a Coroner’s Report recommendation that they should consider retro-fitting sprinklers in existing residential buildings over 30 metres.However, the decision on whether to install sprinklers is a decision for the responsible person in each building, and this decision should be based on the specific circumstances and an assessment of risk for each building.The Government asked Dame Judith Hackitt to lead an independent review of the Building Regulations and fire safety, and will determine what further action is needed in light of her recommendations. It is expected that the review will present an interim report before the end of the year, and a final report no later than spring 2018.

Planning Authorities

Mr Edward Vaizey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will consider the findings of the Place Alliance survey Design Skills in English Planning Authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Alok Sharma: In a Written Ministerial Statement on 4 December (HCWS308), I set out provisions to support design skills, capacity and capability through the Planning Delivery Fund. This £25 million fund will help to support a step change in design quality of new development, as well as design advice and support to local authorities delivering growth.The Planning Delivery Fund prospectus is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/planning-delivery-fund-prospectus

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how much funding has been awarded to local authoiities for the improvement of fire safety in their housing stock since the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what proportion of the £28 million announced in the Autumn Budget for housing first pilot schemes will be allocated to (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Mr Marcus Jones: At Autumn Budget £28 million of funding was announced to pilot the Housing First approach for the country’s most entrenched rough sleepers. The pilots will cover the West Midlands Combined Authority, Greater Manchester, and the Liverpool City Region.The exact allocation of the areas will be subject to ongoing work with the regions and refinement of the scope of the pilots. My Department is in regular contact with officials in the West Midlands and will continue to work closely with them going forward.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Written Statement of 7 November 2017, HCWS232 on local government improvement, if he will place in the Library a list of all the material and representations he received before making his announcement.

Jake Berry: I am placing in the Library a list of material and representations which my Rt Hon Friend received before he announced on 7 November that the Government is minded to implement the locally-led proposals for improving local government in Dorset and Suffolk.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 7 November 2017, HCWS232, on local government improvement, what further steps are needed to secure local consent.

Jake Berry: I refer my Hon Friend to the Written Statement made by the Secretary of State on 7 November 2017 (HCWS232).

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Space Technology

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of  13 November 2017 to Question 111366, what representations the Department has received from the UK space sector supply chain on the effect of the UK leaving the EU (a) Single Market and (b) Customs Union on that industry.

Joseph Johnson: Since the referendum, the Government has carried out extensive and diverse engagement with hundreds of businesses of all sizes across the UK on the potential implications of our withdrawal from the EU. As part of that, I have had a range of discussions with representatives of the UK space sector on the effect of EU exit on the continued strong growth of their sector. We remain committed to making the UK the best place in Europe to own and grow a business. That includes supporting those businesses that trade with the EU and wider international markets, as well as continuing to encourage record foreign direct investment that supports business and communities up and down the country. As part of the launch of the Government’s ambitious Industrial Strategy on Monday 27 November, the Secretary of State announced a £50 million programme to enable new satellite launch services and low gravity spaceflights from UK spaceports.

Renewable Energy

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the amount of renewable energy generated in the UK in 2016 was lower than that produced in 2015.

Richard Harrington: Electricity generation in the UK from renewable sources fell marginally by 0.2 per cent between 2015 and 2016, to 83.2 terawatt hours. Lower rainfall and wind speeds resulted in lower hydro and wind generation, more than offsetting a 16 per cent increase in total capacity, to 35.7 gigawatts in 2016. (Source: DUKES 2017) Under the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, the cumulative total number of domestic accredited renewable heat applications in 2015 was 43,535, while the cumulative total number of domestic accredited renewable heat applications in 2016 was 52,048. Payments in the domestic scheme are paid on deemed, rather than metered heat. The renewable heat generated and paid for on the non-domestic scheme in 2015 was 3,772 gigawatt hours, and the corresponding figure for 2016 was 6,041 gigawatt hours. Further information on renewable heat deployment can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rhi-deployment-data-october-2017

Renewable Energy

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he expects the amount of renewable energy generated in 2017 to be greater than that produced in 2016.

Richard Harrington: Final figures for renewable electricity generation will not be available until 2018. However, the most recent statistics show renewable electricity generation for the first two quarters of 2017 combined was 47.5 terawatt hours, an increase of 9.4 percent on the 43.4 terawatt hours generated in the same period of 2016. (Source: Energy Trends, September 2017) For renewable heat, the Department has not yet received complete data for 2017, however for the Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive the total heat generated and paid for in 2016 was 6,041 gigawatt hours. So far in 2017 (up to the end of October) the Non-Domestic Scheme has supported 6,379 gigawatt hours of generated heat. Payments in the Domestic scheme are paid on deemed heat, rather than metered. The number of accredited installations up to end October 2017 is 7,007. This is slightly lower than the same period in 2016, where there were 7,351 accredited applications.The Department publishes data on both renewable heat schemes on a monthly basis: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rhi-deployment-data-october-2017

Renewable Energy

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase production of renewable energy.

Richard Harrington: The Clean Growth Strategy set out a number of steps we are taking to increase production of renewable energy. These include up to £557 million for further Pot 2 Contract for Difference auctions, with the next one planned for spring 2019, and working with industry as they develop an ambitious Sector Deal for offshore wind, which could result in 10 gigawatts of new capacity, with the opportunity for additional deployment if this is cost effective, built in the 2020s. The Feed-in Tariff scheme also remains open to support smaller-scale electricity generation. The Renewable Heat Incentive is funded until 2020/21, with a budget of £4.5 billion between 2016 and 2021 to deploy renewable and low carbon heat to businesses and homes. In addition, heat networks will play a vital role in the long term decarbonisation of heating in all of the illustrative 2050 scenarios as outlined in the Clean Growth Strategy. The Department is supporting the deployment of heat networks, through a £14 million budget provided for feasibility and project development for over 200 schemes across 131 local authorities.

Solar Power

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many school and community energy solar PV installations were commissioned between (a) 1 October 2015 and 30 September 2016 and (b) 1 October 2016 and 30 September 2017, and what the total installed capacity was in each period.

Richard Harrington: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) holds data (only) for the number of community solar PV installations (including schools) supported by the GB Feed in Tariff. The table below shows the quantity of these installed during the two periods. BEIS cannot separate out all school installations from these figures.  Number of installationsCapacity (MW)1 October 2015 – 30 September 2016328209.71 October 2016 – 30 September 2017361.4 Source: Feed in Tariff installations report, 30 September, available at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/feed-tariff-installation-report-30-september-2017

Fracking: Ryedale

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2017 to Question 113658, if he will make it his policy not to grant hydraulic fracturing consent for Third Energy’s wellsite in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, without having received a certificate from the Health and Safety Executive that all of the requirements in condition 2 of section 4A of the Petroleum Act 1998 have been met.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2017 to Question 113658, and relating to Third Energy’s KM8 well in Ryedale, whether he has received from the Health and Safety Executive a certificate in accordance with section 4A of the Petroleum Act 1998 that it has received the information required by Regulation 19 of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction) Regulations in respect of the KM8 well.

Richard Harrington: Where an application for hydraulic fracturing consent is made, the Department requires that appropriate arrangements have been made for the independent inspection of the integrity of the relevant well as set out in condition 2 of section 4A of the Petroleum Act 1998. In situations where hydraulic fracturing operations commence, the Health and Safety Executive will scrutinise the weekly operations reports produced by the well-operator in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Offshore Installations and Wells (Design and Construction, etc) Regulations 1996, to ensure that the health and safety risks are managed appropriately. On Wednesday 29 November, my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State issued a Direction to the Oil and Gas Authority which will impact on the existing application submitted by Third Energy and certain other applications by operators seeking to carry out hydraulic fracturing in future. I would refer the hon Member to the Written Ministerial Statement that accompanies that direction which provides further details. This can be seen here.

Climate Change

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to continue cooperation with the EU 2030 Climate and Energy Framework after the UK has left the EU.

Claire Perry: In November 2016, the European Commission published the Clean Energy Package, a series of legislative proposals that will implement the 2030 framework and set the course of EU energy policy for the next decade. The UK continues to participate actively and effectively in the negotiation of this legislation to ensure that it supports our domestic climate and energy objectives as set out in the Clean Growth Strategy. I have been clear that the UK’s ambition is to ensure continued efficient energy trading with the EU to underpin a new era of cooperation and partnership on energy and climate change.

Nuclear Power: Employment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people employed in the nuclear industry in each year since 2010; and what forecast he has made of the number of people employed in that industry in each year to 2025.

Richard Harrington: The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group conducts, as part of its activities, a labour market intelligence gathering exercise across the sector to produce an annual Nuclear Workforce Assessment (NWA), which identifies the sector’s forward demand requirements. However, the first NWA report was published in 2014, with a subsequent iteration released in 2015, to improve the estimates for job figures across the industry, and as such we are not able to provide an accurate estimation before this date. The estimate for total demand across the nuclear industry (in Full Time Equivalents) for 2014 and 2015 is 70,000 and 77,000 respectively. The latest NWA published in July 2017 estimates the total demand each year to 2025 in FTEs as follows: 2016 – 84,000, 2017 – 87,000; 2018 – 89,000; 2019 – 90,000; 2020 – 96,000; 2021 – 100,000; 2022 – 100,000; 2023 – 97,000; 2024 – 94,000; 2025 – 90,000.

Energy: Housing

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress his Department is making on increasing the number of homes to be classified as EPC Band C by 2035.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



The Clean Growth Strategy, published recently, sets out Government’s aspiration that as many homes as possible will be upgraded to an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2035 where practical, cost-effective and affordable. In the Clean Growth Strategy, we set out a number of policies and proposals that we will progress to meet this aspiration. For example, we: Are supporting around £3.6 billion of investment to upgrade around a million homes through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), and will extend support for home energy efficiency improvements until 2028 at the current level of ECO funding Will develop a long term trajectory to improve the energy performance standards of privately rented homes, with the aim of upgrading as many as possible to EPC Band C by 2030 where practical, cost-effective and affordable Will consult on how social housing can meet similar standards over this period Intend to consult on strengthening energy performance standards for new and existing homes under Building Regulations, including futureproofing new homes for low carbon heating systems, following the outcome of the independent review of Building Regulations and fire safety, and subject to its conclusions. Are seeking evidence on building a market for energy efficiency, including additional measures to improve energy performance of owner occupied homes through a Call for Evidence published alongside the Clean Growth Strategy.

Industry

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to his oral contribution of 27 November 2017, Official Report, column 45, what specific financial incentives will be available to encourage suppliers to relocate to the UK.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



The new supply chain programme is to be piloted in 2018 in the automotive sector and will provide training and streamline business processes, so that UK suppliers can match the best in Europe and secure a greater share of the expenditure of UK based vehicle makers. This initiative will help support the industry’s ambition to increase UK content in the supply chain from 44% to 50% by 2022. More detail on this will be announced shortly.

Drugs: Manufacturing Industries

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people in Garston and Halewood constituency are employed in the pharmaceutical industry.

Joseph Johnson: In 2016 there were an estimated 1,250 people employed in pharmaceutical manufacturing in the Garston and Halewood constituency. Source: Business Register and Employment Survey, Office for National Statistics

Construction: Billing

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of recent trends in the level of late payments for construction firms on that sector.

Catherine West: To ask The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of late payments to construction firms on  (a) jobs and (b) insolvencies in that sector.

Margot James: The Department does not hold detailed information on late payments in the construction sector. The most comprehensive and up to date analysis of payment practices in the construction sector is the recently published BEIS research paper no.17 – Retentions in the Construction Sector. Further information is being gathered through two ongoing consultations on construction payment practices. The deadline for responses is Friday 19 January 2018. Consultation outcomes will be published within 12 weeks of the close of the consultations or an explanation if this is not possible.

Fossil Fuels

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who was present at the oil and gas investor roundtable attended by the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate change on 12 April 2016.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who was present at the Maximising Economic Recovery Roundtable attended by the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate change on 19 May 2016.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who was present at the CCS Development Forum attended by the then Minister for Energy and Climate change on 5 May 2016.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who was present at the Infrastructure Forum Roundtable attended by the then Minister for Energy and Climate change on 24 May 2016.

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, who was present at the new-gas investors roundtable attended by the then Minister for Energy and Climate change on 25 May 2016.

Richard Harrington: A record of meetings involving Ministers in the former Department for Energy and Climate Change was published quarterly, and can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/decc-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings-april-to-june-2016 The names of all attendees at these meetings are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Renewable Energy

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department has taken to invest in 100 per cent clean energy.

Claire Perry: Power sector emissions in the UK have fallen 49 per cent since 1990 and last year, 47 per cent of our electricity came from low carbon sources. The Clean Growth Strategy sets out our plans to build on the successful decarbonisation of the power sector, while looking further across the whole of the economy and the country.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with local government representatives on his decision to give Local Economic Partnerships primary control for strategic economic planning in places where there is no combined authority.

Margot James: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have played a leading role in economic planning since their creation. Since 2013, each LEP has developed a Strategic Economic Plan for their localities and, between 2015 and 2021, we are devolving over £9 billion of spending through our Growth Deal programme. This will enable each LEP to deliver those plans – creating thousands of jobs as a consequence.Local Industrial Strategies will establish new ways of working between national and local leaders in both the public and private sectors, with local authorities continuing to play an integral role in shaping their economies through their contribution to the work of the LEP. We expect each local strategy to be a result of extensive consultation at a local level.The launch of the Green Paper, ‘Building our Industrial Strategy’, in January 2017, commenced an extensive period of consultation, capturing feedback to inform the development of the White Paper. Local authorities, along with key sector organisations, including the Local Government Association, responded to the consultation.

Independent Industrial Strategy Council

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that the proposed Industrial Strategy Council will be (a) independent of Government and (b) able to hold Government to account for the implementation of the Industrial Strategy.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



I refer the hon Member to the answer provided in the joint response to UIN 116010.

Industry

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a timetable for the publication of the additional sector deals referenced in the Industrial Strategy.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



I refer the hon Member to the answer provided in the response to UIN 115895.

Solar Power

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Local Enterprise Partnerships' local energy strategies funded by his Department have evaluated the potential for solar power in their areas.

Margot James: BEIS has offered funding to help all 38 Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) in England develop energy strategies. A first phase of funding was offered to thirteen LEPs in March 2017, and funding was offered to the remaining 25 LEPs in September 2017.BEIS is enabling local areas to develop energy strategies, linked with the forthcoming Local Industrial Strategies, to reflect the needs, opportunities and barriers within the local area. Some LEP areas have chosen to work together on a joint strategy. Strategies are expected to consider the full range of energy opportunities and challenges in the local area, including the potential for renewable heat and power generation, demand side management and transport infrastructure.No energy strategies have been completed yet. The first phase energy strategies are expected by the end of March 2018, and the second phase are expected in summer 2018.

Solar Power

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on supporting solar power.

Richard Harrington: As outlined in the Clean Growth Strategy, the costs of low carbon technologies have fallen significantly since 2010 through a series of innovations and growth in deployment, with solar photovoltaics (PV) modules now almost 80 per cent cheaper than they were, meaning we are now beginning to see solar deploying in the UK without government support.Solar PV projects continue to benefit from support provided under various government schemes in the UK. Although the Renewables Obligation scheme closed to new solar PV applicants on 1st April 2016, the Feed-in-Tariff remains open to new solar PV projects.

Products: Safety

Gill Furniss: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much has been spent from the public purse on (a) central and (b) local government funding for product safety in the last twelve months for which data is available.

Margot James: The Department provided funding of £1.9 million in the financial year 2016-2017 to support product safety. This includes targeted enforcement at ports and borders through National Trading Standards teams, improving standards and testing goods to remove unsafe products from the market and work with consumer bodies and charities to raise awareness of product safety through national campaigns. No data is held by the Department for product safety funding at a local level. Local authorities are independent from central government. As such, resourcing decisions on funding for product safety are for individual local authorities to make, and local government is accountable to local communities for those decisions. The Government is currently considering the recommendation of the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety for greater national capacity to support consumers on product safety.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Margot James: Teams across the Department are working on delivering a successful EU exit. As of 31 October, BEIS recruited an additional 269 staff and is currently recruiting for a further c.170.

Zero Hours Contracts: Unfair Dismissal

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to extend the employment rights of workers on zero hour contracts to cover unfair dismissal.

Margot James: The Government is considering the issues raised by Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices which includes employment rights and zero hour contracts, as well as atypical work more generally. Matthew Taylor’s report is comprehensive and detailed and we have been giving the report the careful consideration it deserves and will respond in full shortly.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings that Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Margot James: Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.UK website by searching ‘gov.uk BEIS transparency information’.Information for July – September 2017 will be published in due course.

Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish the (a) business case and (b) funding details for wave 2 projects funded through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.

Claire Perry: We will announce further details about the challenges in wave 2 of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund early next year.

Small Businesses: Productivity

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the timetable is for publication of his review into improving the productivity and growth of small and medium-sized businesses.

Margot James: The review will focus on what actions could be most effective in improving productivity and growth of SMEs, including how to address what has been called ‘long tail’ of lower productivity firms. We will announce the policies we intend to take forward following this review in Autumn 2018.

Regulation: Finance

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, which UK regulators will be eligible to receive funding from the proposed Regulators' Pioneer Fund.

Margot James: An agile approach to regulation is crucial in supporting growth among innovative firms and ensuring that we realise the benefits of new and emerging technologies for all. We will welcome applications to the fund from regulators for those sectors affected by emerging technologies.

ICT: Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to encourage the commercialisation of UK innovations in (a) cybersecurity, (b) machine learning, (c) microelectronics, (d) compound chip technology and (c) biotechnology.

Joseph Johnson: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Industry

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what involvement local authorities will have in the development and delivery of the Local Industrial Strategies referred to in the Industrial Strategy White Paper.

Claire Perry: Local Industrial Strategies will establish new ways of working between national and local leaders in both the public and private sectors, with local authorities continuing to play an integral role in shaping their economies through their contribution to the work of the Local Enterprise Partnership. We expect each local strategy to be a result of extensive consultation at a local level.

Groceries Code Adjudicator

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2017 to Question 115216, what changes he proposes to implement for the operation of the Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) as a result of the review published on 19 July 2017; and what plans he has to extend the remit of the GCA to cover smaller suppliers in the grocery supply chain.

Margot James: Following the Statutory Review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA), the Government is working with the GCA to agree a strategic goal to address the reluctance of some direct suppliers to raise legitimate grievances with the GCA due to a fear of commercial consequences. The Government will continue to support the GCA in her work by also making it clear to retailers designated by the Code that it is not acceptable that direct suppliers face commercial consequences as a result of reporting potential breaches of the Code. We will also work with Trade Associations to help their members understand how the Code works and the role of the GCA.The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has been working closely with the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs to consider potential solutions to issues identified by respondents to the Call for Evidence on the remit of the GCA. We aim to publish a response to the call for evidence in due course.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by his Department and (b) his Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Margot James: Teams across the Department are working on delivering a successful EU exit. We have estimated an additional 450 staff requirement for officials over 2017-18 and are reviewing future resource needs.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Religious Freedom

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the recommendations and conclusions of the report of the All-Party Parliamentary Group International Freedom of Religion and Belief, Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality, published on 25 October 2017.

Mark Field: ​The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) welcomed the publication of "Article 18: From Rhetoric to Reality" by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for International Freedom of Religion and Belief. My colleague the Minister for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, spoke at the launch of the report on 25th October. The report is a serious and significant contribution to the policy debate on how to promote and defend Freedom of Religion or Belief. The Government is currently evaluating the report, including the recommendations for Government policy and activity and will give its formal response in due course.​​

Palestinians: Conjoined Twins

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to assist conjoined twins born to Palestinian parents at the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza to access specialist treatment in Israel.

Alistair Burt: ​While we have no plans to assist with this specific issue, officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv and Consulate General in Jerusalem have raised our concerns recently with the Israeli Government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) respectively over the situation in Gaza. Israeli hospitals do treat Palestinian patients following referrals from the PA. Where referrals have been made, we continue to encourage the Israeli authorities to grant permits to allow greater Gazan access to critical healthcare.

Montserrat: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he expects Montserrat’s public register of beneficial ownership to be published; and what support in publishing that register the Government is providing.

Sir Alan Duncan: Montserrat committed in November 2015 to include beneficial ownership information in its existing public companies register. A Bill requiring legal entities to hold beneficial ownership information and to submit it for inclusion in the existing public central register will be introduced to Montserrat's Legislative Assembly later this month. The target date for the addition of beneficial ownership information to the existing register is 1 April 2018.

Anguilla: Companies

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Anguilla’s register of beneficial ownership to be published; for what reasons publication has been delayed; and what support the UK providing to assist Anguilla in publishing the register.

Sir Alan Duncan: We have committed to provide financial support to Anguilla to create an electronic search platform providing access to beneficial ownership information, as well as support in drafting underpinning legislation. We are working with Anguilla to finalise a Memorandum of Understanding on the terms for provision of support for its beneficial ownership system, and expect that its system will be established in the spring of 2018. Delays have been caused by a need to ensure value for money in the provision of funding and to put in place legislative drafting assistance. In the interim, Anguilla will respond to any requests for information from UK law enforcement authorities.

Military Intervention

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether any UK personnel, intelligence, or assets including British bases were used in any US lethal action in (a) Yemen, (b) Pakistan, (c) Somalia and (d) Libya since January 2017.

Sir Alan Duncan: For reasons of national security, it is the longstanding policy of successive British Governments not to comment on intelligence and sensitive operations.​

Israel: West Bank

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Israel on the proposed Jerusalem and its Daughters bill which seeks to annex the three major West Bank settlement blocs of Gush Etzion, Ma’ale Adumim/E-1, and Givat Ze’ev.

Alistair Burt: Our Ambassador to Israel raised concerns on the bill with the Israeli Minister of Public Security and Strategic Affairs, Gilad Erdan, on 26 October. While the proposed bill is still in the preliminary stages of legislation, we remain strongly opposed to any attempts to change the facts on the ground in East Jerusalem. A final determination of the status of Jerusalem should be sought as part of a negotiated settlement between Israelis and Palestinians. It must ensure Jerusalem is a shared capital of the Israeli and Palestinian states, with access and religious rights of both peoples respected.

Syria: Turkey

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has received on Turkey's involvement in the funding of Salafist anti-government forces in Syria.

Sir Alan Duncan: As members of NATO and the Global Coalition, the UK regularly discusses the situation in Syria with our Turkish Allies. We welcome Turkey’s support for the moderate opposition, and their commitment to the Geneva political process led by the UN to find a resolution in Syria.

EU Defence Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will publish the working groups associated with the development of a EU Permanent Structured Cooperation and the number of staff from each Government Department working on each of those groups.

Sir Alan Duncan: The aim of Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) is to strengthen EU Member States' cooperation in military matters. PESCO is voluntary and works on an opt-in basis.The UK Government has not committed to PESCO but supports its ambition to develop military capabilities that address the shortfalls in EU and NATO contexts. We welcome PESCO as a tool to support the development of capabilities that Europe needs for its security, provided it remains complementary to NATO and encourages EU-NATO cooperation; and that projects carried out under PESCO remain Member State-owned and the capabilities delivered are available not only to the EU but can also be used in support of NATO and UN operations.There are no associated working groups but UK officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence have attended PESCO workshops at both the technical and policy level.We are encouraging Member States to develop PESCO to be open to third country participation where there is clear value in doing so.Our vision is of a unique third country partnership that enables unprecedented levels of practical cooperation in tackling common threats building on our shared values and interests. We believe that PESCO must be designed in a way that promotes an open and competitive European Defence industry.Our approach reflects our commitment to European defence and security, and protecting the interests of UK industry.

USA: Armed Conflict

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on reports that the US Government is replacing its Presidential Policy Guidance with Principles, Standards and Procedures governing US lethal actions outside of areas of active hostilities.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials have had exploratory discussions with the US Government to seek clarity on the direction of US policy in this area.

Turkey: LGBT People

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of trends in the maintenance of rights of LGBTQ people in Turkey.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​We fully support the rights of LGBTQI groups in Turkey. We regularly urge Turkey to work towards the full protection of fundamental rights, including with respect to freedom of expression and assembly, and will continue to do so. We are concerned by the recent ban by the Ankara authorities on LGBTQI-related activities in the city, as well as the banning of the Istanbul Pride march earlier this year. The British Embassy in Ankara provides project support to a number of Turkish civil society organisations working in the area of fundamental freedoms. In recent years we have funded projects on supporting freedom of expression, promoting women's and minority rights and LGBQTI issues.

Cote d'Ivoire: Human Trafficking

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the trafficking of citizens from Ivory Coast.

Rory Stewart: Tackling modern slavery is a domestic and foreign policy priority for the British Government, with personal commitment from the Prime Minister. In September, the Prime Minister launched a Call to Action to End Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking at the UN General Assembly. President Ouattara endorsed the Call to Action on behalf of the Government of Côte d'Ivoire at the event. We are supporting Côte d'Ivoire's efforts to ensure its effective implementation.

Cote d'Ivoire: Politics and Government

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the political situation in the Ivory Coast?

Rory Stewart: ​Our Embassy in Abidjan monitors the situation and regularly engages with the Government of Côte d'Ivoire. My Rt. Hon. Friend Tobias Ellwood MP visited Côte d'Ivoire in March this year, when he was Minister for Africa, and the Foreign Secretary was in Côte d'Ivoire last week for the EU-AU Summit, when he had a short meeting with President Ouattara.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the suppression and imprisonment of Baha’i people in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The treatment of followers of the Baha'i faith in Iran is a serious concern and I discussed these concerns directly with my Iranian counterpart during my visit to Iran in August this year. The British Government calls on Iran to respect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens no matter what their religion or belief.

Nigeria: Homicide

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Nigerian counterpart on the murder of nine Christians in Central Plateau State in November 2017 to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice.

Rory Stewart: I am concerned by reports of an attack in Plateau State and by reports of other recent fatal clashes between farmers and herdsmen. I condemn the recent attacks and loss of life. All parties need to find a peaceful solution to the complex underlying causes of these incidents.Inter-communal clashes between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria, over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water have a devastating impact on lives and communities. We emphasise the importance of protecting civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities, with the Nigerian authorities, at the highest level. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to focus on bringing the perpetrators of such attacks to justice and examining longer term peaceful solutions to the conflict.

Mediterranean Sea: Refugees

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of people who have tried to make the sea crossing between North Africa and Europe in the last six months.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 89,755 people crossed the Mediterranean from North Africa into Italy and Spain from May to October 2017. We do not have statistics for the number of attempted crossings.

Rohingya

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Bangladesh and (b) Myanmar to encourage those states to sign the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons.

Mark Field: The UK has not had recent specific discussions with the Government of Bangladesh or Government of Burma on the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons. The UK supports the Convention and has been a signatory since 1954.

Rohingya

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of (a) Bangladesh and (b) Myanmar to encourage those states to sign the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.

Mark Field: The UK has not had recent specific discussions with Government of Burma or Government of Bangladesh on the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. The UK supports the 1951 Convention and has been a signatory since 1951 and the UK acceded to the 1967 Protocol in 1968.

USA: State Visits

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the retweet of 29 November 2017 from the @realDonaldTrump  twitter account of the tweet from the @JaydaBF twitter account, whether it remains the Government's policy to proceed with President Trump's forthcoming official visit to the UK.

Sir Alan Duncan: As the Prime Minister made very clear on 30 November, retweeting videos from Britain First was wrong.As the Prime Minister stated on 30 November, an invitation for a State Visit has been extended and has been accepted. A date has yet to be set.

Crimea: Human Rights

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Russian counterparts on the detention of Tatars involved in human rights works in Crimea.

Sir Alan Duncan: ​The British Government is committed to raising concerns publicly, multilaterally and directly with the Russia Government, about human rights abuses committed by the "de-facto" Russian authorities against Crimean Tatars since the illegal annexation of Crimea. I regularly raise our concerns directly with the Russian Ambassador to the UK, and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers will continue to raise our concerns with Russian counterparts. The UK has supported Ukraine in ensuring the persecution of Crimean Tatars remains in the international spotlight, most recently through our support of the successful resolution on the human rights situation in Crimea at the UN General Assembly's third committee in November.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Small Businesses: Perishable Goods

Jo Platt: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what steps his Department is taking to support small businesses that export time-sensitive perishable goods (a) before and (b) after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government is committed to the best possible deal for the United Kingdom - a deal that works for small businesses. We continue to engage with businesses and industry bodies from all sectors of the economy, including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) , in order to inform our negotiations with the EU.Furthermore, our future partnership paper Future customs arrangements published in August 2017 sets out our aspirations for the UK’s future customs arrangements. The paper set out key customs issues that form part of the UK Government’s approach to the new partnership with the EU. This reflects the deep engagement the Government has sought from external parties with expertise on each policy area, and draws on the very extensive work undertaken across Government since last year’s referendum.As we have said before, we recognise that businesses and people will need time to adjust, and to allow new systems to be put in place. That’s why we are proposing a strictly time-limited implementation period, based on the existing structure of EU rules and regulations, during which the UK and the EU would continue to have access to one another’s markets on current terms.The UK government believes it is in the interests of both parties to achieve the best possible outcome and the strongest possible partnership for the future - one that works for the UK and for the EU.

European Food Safety Authority

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the UK’s relationship with the EU Food Safety Authority will be after the UK has left the European Union.

Mr Robin Walker: I refer the hon. Member to the answer Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care Steve Brine gave on 22 November 2017 to Question (UIN) 113028.

Brexit: Impact Assessments

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Oral Statement of 28 November 2017, Official Report, column 161, on leaving the EU: sectoral impact assessments,  how many pages of material have been withheld in addition to the 850 pages submitted to the Exiting the European Union Committee.

Mr Robin Walker: In order to meet the motion of 1st November, we have taken time to bring together the sectoral analyses in a way that is accessible and informative to the Committee. We have not edited or redacted reports. At the time the motion was passed, and subsequently, we were clear that the documents did not exist in the form requested.The Government has to be mindful of its obligations not to allow sensitive information to be public, so we have sought not to include commercially, market and negotiation sensitive information, but we have been as open as possible. The material we have provided to the Select Committee is very substantial.

Department for International Development

Middle East: Earthquakes

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary for International Development, what support her Department has provided to Iran and Iraq since the recent earthquake on the border of Iran and Iraq.

Alistair Burt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I provided on 27 November to Question number 114567

Democratic Republic of Congo: Famine

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department is providing additional funds to protect children from famine in the Kasaï region, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rory Stewart: I visited the Kasai Central, in the DRC, in November 2017 to see for myself the impact of the conflict and resulting food insecurity. 294,000 children are at risk of dying from malnutrition. UK bilateral aid is already supporting 25,800 children with lifesaving assistance. We recently announced the new allocation of £175 million for humanitarian support over the next five years (2017-2022) for DRC. This will support a further 220,000 children nationally under the age of 5 with vital nutrition.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Famine

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions her Department has had with representatives of the African Union, EU and UN on responding to the famine in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rory Stewart: I visited Kasai Central, in the DRC, in November 2017 to see for myself the impact of the conflict and resulting food insecurity. I met with representatives from the AU and UN agencies during my visit and discussed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the DRC, and how the international community should respond. My officials are working closely with the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to ensure strong leadership and urgency in responding to the crisis.

Côte d'Ivoire: Overseas Aid

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of UK foreign aid goes to Ivory Coast; and what assessment she has made of the effect of that aid.

Rory Stewart: In 2016, 6 million or 0.007% of the UK’s bilateral ODA contributions went to Cote d’Ivoire. In addition, Cote D’Ivoire will have benefitted from funding from the United Nations, World Bank, IMF and African Development Bank, to which the UK provides core funding. UK aid has increased the efficiency and capacity of a major power plant near Abidjan which now provides 15% of the country’s electricity, and has also funded delivery of over 2 million treatments for schistosomiasis and soil transmitted helminths which will help prevent anaemia, stunting and developmental problems in children.

Global Partnership for Education

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the UK's role in the Global Partnership for Education; and what steps she is taking to encourage greater gender equality in education.

Alistair Burt: The UK continuously appraises the effectiveness of its programmes via a number of mechanisms. This includes Annual Reviews which contain analysis of value for money and to what extent programmes’ anticipated results are being achieved. Annual Reviews of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) are publically available on the Dev Tracker website. In addition the UK has been pushing a reform agenda of GPE’s operational processes, which has seen the Partnership make significant progress in areas such as results reporting and risk management. Alice Albright, CEO of GPE, acknowledged DFID’s pivotal role in improving GPE’s operations in evidence to the IDC. The UK is strongly committed to girls education, as one of our four pillars in the Strategic Vision for Women and Girls. We support gender equitable education through our bilateral and central education programmes; our education research; and our international relationships with partners such as UNICEF and UNGEI. For example, the Girls Education Challenge programme is supporting up to one million marginalised girls benefit from a quality education.

Burma: Rohingya

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2017 to Question 115311, whether the UK Government has policies and procedures in place to ensure that UK aid is not spent on projects aimed at encouraging refugee returns to Myanmar before conditions for their return are safe; and what assurances he has received from the Bangladeshi Government that they would not seek to return refugees to Myanmar before conditions for their return are safe.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2017 to Question 115311, whether the UK Government has policies and procedures in place to ensure that UK aid is not spent on projects aimed at encouraging refugee returns to Myanmar that would breach the principle of non-refoulement in international refugee law.

Alistair Burt: The Burmese and Bangladeshi authorities are discussing a refugee return process. During the Secretary of State for International Development’s visit to Bangladesh 25-26 November 2017, she underlined to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that any future returns from Bangladesh must be safe, voluntary, dignified and consistent with international standards. UNHCR has stated that these conditions are not yet being met in northern Rakhine State. We will continue to press the Governments of Bangladesh and Burma to work with the international community to identify acceptable solutions that protect and respect the rights and freedoms of refugees, and that include international monitoring.Since August 2017, the UK has announced £59 million to support implementation of the international Humanitarian Response Plan to meet the needs of refugees in Bangladesh. The UK has provided £1 million to the Burma Red Cross and £2 million to the World Food Programme to meet humanitarian needs in northern Rakhine State, Burma. No UK funding will be made available to support a returns process that does not meet international standards.

Department for International Development: Legatum Institute

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what meetings Ministers of her Department have had with representatives of the Legatum Institute in the last 12 months.

Rory Stewart: Details of Ministerial Meetings will be published in the Department's Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on humanitarian aid to the Gaza strip in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: Data for all DFID’s spend is available in the Statistics for International Development publication athttps://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development. The figures for 2016 have just been released and those for 2017 will be released next year. Allocations for future years will be confirmed in due course. SID does not differentiate between DFID’s spend in the West Bank and Gaza.The UK provided more than £17 million in immediate humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014. In October 2014, the UK pledged, and subsequently fully disbursed a further £20 million in early recovery assistance at the Gaza Reconstruction Conference in Cairo, including support for cash assistance to Palestinian refugees, mine removal and medical treatment. More recently the UK provided £1.9 million of humanitarian assistance to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Gaza to address critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs, benefitting approximately 1 million people. In addition the UK is a long-term supporter of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) which provides basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza including basic health care, and we are supporting humanitarian access, enabling reconstruction efforts and investing in job creation in Gaza.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs humanitarian funding appeal to support people in Gaza.

Alistair Burt: The UK is supporting approximately 1 million Gazans by addressing critical water, sanitation and hygiene needs, as identified in the UN Gaza Urgent Funding Appeal, through a £1.9m grant to the United Nations Children’s Fund. In addition the UK is a long-term supporter of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) which provides basic services to 1.3 million people in Gaza including basic health care, and we are supporting humanitarian access, enabling reconstruction efforts and investing in job creation in Gaza.

Department for Education

Schools: Sevenoaks

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her assessment is of the adequacy of the funding delivered by the new funding formula for Amherst School, Seal Primary School, Weald Primary School, Riverhead Infants School and Dunton Green Primary School in Sevenoaks.

Nick Gibb: If the national funding formula were implemented in full, the schools in question would receive the following increases in the funding they attract compared to their baseline, based on 2017-18 data:Amherst School – 9.7%, or £310 more per pupilSeal CE Primary School – 8.3%, or £300 more per pupilWeald Community Primary School – 3.8%, or £142 more per pupilRiverhead Infants’ School – 3.1%, or £108 more per pupilDunton Green Primary School – 8.9%, or £339 more per pupil For all but one of the above schools, their increases are greater than the national average for primary schools of 3.3%, or £135 per pupil. Amherst School, Weald Community Primary School and Riverhead Infants’ School will attract their final formula allocation by 2019-20. Seal CE Primary School will attract an increase of 5.2% by 2019-20 and Dunton Green Primary School will attract an increase of 5.0% by 2019-20. Individual schools’ actual budgets for 2018-19 and 2019-20 will be determined by the local authority, through the local school funding formula. National funding formula allocations for local authorities and notional allocations for schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-funding-formula-tables-for-schools-and-high-needs.

Schools: Admissions

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what (a) financial and (b) other support her Department provides to schools that do not fill pupil spaces in (i) England and (ii) Kent.

Nick Gibb: School budgets in England are set using actual pupil numbers from the previous October school census. This lagged approach to funding provides certainty and stability, and means that schools have more lead-time to adjust their plans for any reduced levels of funding caused by falling pupil numbers. Both maintained schools and academies have a responsibility to set a balanced budget. Where schools experience financial difficulties the Department, in respect of academies, and the local authority, in respect of maintained schools, support them to produce a recovery plan. A local authority that wants to operate a falling rolls fund to support good or outstanding maintained schools and academies with falling pupil numbers where numbers will grow again within the next three years can retain funding for that purpose.

Church Schools: Admissions

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government plans to introduce legislative proposals to remove the 50 per cent cap for Catholic schools.

Anne Milton: The proposals set out in the ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation document to remove the 50% cap on faith admissions in faith free schools do not require any legislative changes. The department is considering carefully the results of the consultation and plan to respond on this in due course.

Class Sizes: Coventry South

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of average class sizes in Coventry South constituency in each of the last five years.

Nick Gibb: Average class size figures for state-funded schools in England are calculated and published annually in the statistical first releases available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-school-and-pupil-numbers.A national summary of average class sizes for key stages 1 and 2 and secondary is in the national tables document for each year, tables 6a and 6b respectively.Data is not summarised by parliamentary constituency, but data for each school providing average class sizes for key stages 1 and 2, where appropriate, and overall is available via opening the underlying tables document for each year then the file ‘…Schools_Classes_UD’. The figures can be filtered by parliamentary constituency, school phase and local authority.

Teachers: Labour Turnover

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students who have undergone teacher training have still been teaching by the start of the second year of their teaching career in each of the last three years.

Nick Gibb: Statistics on the number of final year postgraduate trainee teachers who were awarded qualified teacher status, and the number and proportion of those who reported being in a teaching post within 6 months of qualifying, is available in Table 5 of the ‘initial teacher training performance profiles: 2015 to 2016’ statistical first release, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/initial-teacher-training-performance-profiles-2015-to-2016. The latest available data relates to academic year 2015/16 and Table 5b of the publication includes time-series data back to academic year 2006/07. The retention rates for teachers who qualified in each year are publically available in Table 8 of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2016’ statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2016.

Migrant Workers: Fees and charges

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the effect of the immigration skills charge on the creative industries.

Anne Milton: We have not assessed the effect of the charge on individual sectors. The cost will depend on whether employers choose to use the Tier 2 route. It will also vary depending on the number of Certificates of Sponsorship employers choose to assign, whether they pay the standard or reduced rate, and the length of time an employer chooses to employ a worker for.We are monitoring the operation of the charge and will review the policy following its first year.

Schools: Cost Effectiveness

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much public funding has been spent on the schools efficiency taskforce; how many people that taskforce employs; how many schools that taskforce has visited; how much efficiency savings that taskforce has found; what estimate she has made of the savings that taskforce will make in the future; and whether she plans to undertake an assessment of the value for money of that taskforce.

Nick Gibb: In July 2017 we announced an additional £1.3 billion for schools and high needs across 2018-19 and 2019-20; in addition to the schools’ budget set at Spending Review 2015. This means funding per pupil for schools and high needs will be maintained in real terms for the next two years. Alongside our substantial investment, we are committed to helping schools maximise efficiencies. As part of this support and where appropriate, we will provide efficiency experts to schools. This additional support will be focused on providing practical advice to maximise efficiencies. These experts will start working with schools in early 2018 as part of our initial pilot. This pilot will allow us to better assess the impact of the support going forward.

Pre-school Education: Recruitment

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has a strategy to increase the proportion of male employees in the early years sector.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Following publication of the Early Years Workforce Strategy, we have set up a task and finish group of early years sector stakeholders to consider gender diversity in the sector in more depth. The group is in its early stages and more information will be available as work progresses.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which academies in England are currently awaiting a transfer to another trust.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am unable to reveal the names of academies awaiting transfer to another trust. We are committed to transparency, but this should not undermine the process of rebrokering by exacerbating any uncertainty. Where transfers do happen, these are announced as soon as possible and when appropriate, so that transfers can happen smoothly and in the best interests of pupils.

Academies

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the longest period is that an academy has waited for a transfer to another trust since 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry, but the information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Pre-school Education: Average Earnings

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the average pay in early years settings on their ability to fill vacancies; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Department for Education does not set pay and conditions for early years professionals employed in private and voluntary sector organisations. The most recent data we have on the early years sector and pay is from the 2016 Survey of Childcare and Early Years Providers Statistical First Release (SFR). The accompanying research report, which is more detailed than the SFR, is available here (the section on 'Childcare staff pay in group-based and school-based providers' can be found on pages 69-72):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593965/SFR09_2017_Research_Report.pdf. Employers are responsible for staff recruitment. We do not hold data on unfilled vacancies. The Early Years Workforce strategy published in March 2017 is intended to support the early years sector to remove barriers to attracting, retaining and developing the early years workforce.

Pre-school Education: Apprentices

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer on 28 November 2017 to Question 115556, Pre-school education: apprentices, how many and what proportion of apprenticeship starts (a) were completed and (b) remain employed in the early years sector.

Anne Milton: The number of apprenticeships who completed their course is outlined below. The percentage of sustained employment rate for learners that completed an apprenticeship in ‘Child Development and Well Being’ is also provided:  Completions  Sustained  Employment RateProvision Type2013/142014/15 2013/142014/15Advanced Apprenticeship9,2009,130 84%82%Intermediate Apprenticeship5,2205,290 81%79%Source: Longitudinal Education Outcomes Study Note:Figures are rounded to the nearest 10; percentages are rounded to the nearest percent.Data are based on Individualised Learner Record data linked to the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs data to observe benefit and employment activity, and include learners who may not have been employed in the same sector in which they achieved their apprenticeship.Data refer to learners completing training up to the 2014/15 academic year – the most recent year for which outcome measures are available.To be reported in sustained employment, learners must be in paid employment as recorded in Pay-As-You-Earn records in five out of six months between October and March in the following academic year or have returned a self-assessment form stating that they have received income from self-employment during that financial year. Figures come from Official Statistics published on Outcome Based Success Measures available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/further-education-outcome-based-success-measures-2014-to-2015.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/655142/FE_learners___national__provider__and_geography_tables.xlsx.

Child Minding

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2017 to Question 115567 on child minding what proportion of local authorities are paying providers on a monthly basis.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We expect all local councils to move to paying providers on a monthly basis by September 2018.The model agreement, published on 3 March 2017, sets out the department’s expectations and is clear that local councils should pay all providers, particularly childminders, monthly by September 2018. A provider can request to continue an existing alternative and sustainable method of payment as long as the local council agrees.In our statutory guidance for early education and childcare we are clear that local councils should use the model agreement unless they have good reason not to do so.

Mathematics: Education

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 4.24 of the Autumn Budget 2017, how many pupils she estimates will study Maths, Further Maths or Core Maths as a consequence of the payments set out in that paragraph for each year that it is available.

Nick Gibb: The post-16 mathematics premium announced in the Budget will be uncapped, as we want as many pupils as possible to benefit from studying mathematics post-16. It is up to providers to decide how many students they can teach level 3 mathematics post-16, and up to, young people to decide whether they wish to continue studying the subject. Further information about the post-16 mathematics premium will be released in due course.

Schools: Staff

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to paragraph 6.27 of the Autumn Budget 2017, what plans she has to apply the revised public sector pay policy to school support staff and teaching assistants.

Nick Gibb: Responsibility for the pay and conditions of support staff lies at a local level with head teachers and school employers. They are best placed to use their professional judgement to set support staff terms and conditions.

Ministry of Justice

Bedford Prison

Mohammad Yasin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were subject to adjudications in HMP Bedford in 2016, and of those prisoners how many were Muslim, and what the breakdown was by ethnicity.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The number of adjudications at HM Prison Bedford in 2016, broken down by ethnicity of the prison’s prisoner population and of Muslim prisoners held at the prison, can be found in the table below. Discipline procedures are central to the maintenance of a safe custodial environment. They are provided for by the Prison and Young Offender Institution Rules, which require adjudications to be conducted lawfully, fairly and justly. Total number of offences(1)All adjudications at HMP Bedford929Ethnic breakdown of those prisoners:(2) - White643- Mixed/multiple ethnic groups64- Asian or Asian British66- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British136- Other ethnic groups2- Not Known (3)18Adjudications involving Muslim prisoners209  Ethnic breakdown of those Muslim prisoners:(2) - White58- Mixed/multiple ethnic groups30- Asian or Asian British48- Black/African/Caribbean/Black British55- Other ethnic groups0- Not Known (3)18(1) The number of offences refers to the number of adjudications for which one or more punishments may be imposed onto an offender. (2) Offences were recorded under the 2011 Census categories which have replaced the 2001 Census categories and therefore Chinese have moved from "Chinese or other ethnic group" to the "Asian/Asian British" category, and the group renamed to "Other ethnic group". This is in line with changes made to the ethnic group classifications in other National Statistic publications on populations in England and Wales following the 2011 Census. (3) Includes prisoners where ethnicity is not known either due to no recording or a recording of 'Not Stated'.

Fraud

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many reports of suspected fraud have been made to the Legal Aid Agency in each year since 2013.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful prosecutions for fraud have resulted from complaints made to the Legal Aid Agency in each year since 2013.

Ellie Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for fraud resulting from complaints to the Legal Aid Agency were undertaken by individuals or bodies other than the Crown Prosecution Service in each year since 2013, and how many of those prosecutions were successful.

Dominic Raab: YearNumber of reports to Legal Aid Agency of suspected fraudNumber of successful prosecutions resulting from reports made to Legal Aid AgencyApril 2013 to March 20148794April 2014 to March 20157667April 2015 to March 20165405April 2016 to March 20173735April 2017 to November 20172146 There has been one prosecution for fraud resulting from complaints to the Legal Aid Agency undertaken by an individual or body other than the Crown Prosecution Service since 2013. The prosecution commenced in July 2016 but in April 2017 the Director of Public Prosecutions exercised her powers under section 6(2) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 to take over the conduct of the criminal proceedings. The trial is set for May 2018.

Violent and Sex Offender Register

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the owners of the multi-agency public protection guidance to remove references to the UK Border Agency.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The MAPPA Guidance is currently under review. References to the UKBA are primarily contained within the Duty to Co-operate Agencies and Foreign National Offenders chapters. My officials have redrafted both of these chapters and references to UKBA have been removed. As with other chapters, officials are consulting interested parties on proposed revisions to these two chapters and are currently awaiting comments from the Home Office Immigration Enforcement. Once the consultation has been completed, officials will seek approval from and on behalf of the Secretary of State for the amended chapters to be published.

Offenders: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he is making on the development of the Government’s strategy for women offenders and what gaps he has identified in the provision of services to women offenders.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. As part of this process we have assessed where the gaps in provision are for community services and the custodial estate. Considering how we can best address the needs of female offenders, to improve outcomes for them, their families and their communities, is a complex issue that we want to get right. We are developing a strategy for female offenders to improve outcomes for women in the community and custody. This will be published in due course.

Prisons: Wales

Carolyn Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to build a women’s prison in Wales.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. We are developing a strategy for female offenders to improve outcomes for women in the community and custody. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Crime: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of crime in Essex have received the proceeds of compensation orders issued against offenders in each of the last five years.

Dr Phillip Lee: The information requested is not held centrally, either for Essex or nationally. However, according to our Trust Statement, the amount of compensation nationally imposed and collected has risen steadily over recent years. In 2012-13 £33,855,000 was imposed and £33,327,000 collected, increasing to £46,021,000 imposed and £41,420,000 collected in 2016-17.

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders in the prison estate come from each of the three most represented overseas countries.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Any foreign national who comes to our country and abuses our hospitality by breaking the law should be in no doubt of our determination to deport them. More than 40,000 foreign national offenders have been removed from the UK since 2010, and last year a record number of over 6,300 were removed. Information is publicly available on the number of foreign prisoners, broken down by nationality, held by HM Prison and Probation Service in England and Wales, and this can be found on Gov.UK using the link below. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2017

Prisoners: Females

Fiona Onasanya: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of female prisoners.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to making sure that as many women as possible are effectively rehabilitated in the community, to better protect the public and deliver better outcomes for female offenders and their families. We have committed to producing a Female Offender Strategy, which will set out how we can do more in the community so custody is only used when absolutely necessary.

Rape: West Midlands

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken to access rape crisis centres in (a) the West Midlands and (b) Coventry.

Dr Phillip Lee: We are committed to ensuring that victims get the support they need to cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Rape support centres are funded from a number of different sources, including the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). In 2017/18 the MoJ directly allocated around £7.2m as a contribution to 97 Rape Support Centres across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse. An additional 4.1% uplift was also allocated to all rape support centres in recognition of the increasing demand for support. In 2017/18 the MoJ also allocated around £68m to Police and Crime Commissioners to locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime, including services for victims of sexual violence. In the West Midlands, 4 centres are part-funded nationally by the MoJ, including 1 centre in Coventry.

Children: Restraint Techniques

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of restraint against children in young offenders institutions there have been in each of the last three years, broken down by the role of the person who carried out the restraint technique.

Dr Phillip Lee: The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. Restraint is only ever used as a last resort, where there is a risk of harm, and no other form of intervention is possible or appropriate. Every incident of restraint is reviewed by the establishment, this includes looking at whether any lessons can be learned for the future.Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) has been specifically developed for use by staff working with young people in custody. MMPR provides a greater emphasis on managing challenging behaviour without resorting to restraint and also stresses the importance of accurate reporting to enable the ongoing analysis of its effectiveness. It also includes restraint techniques which have, for the first time, been assessed by an independent panel of medical and behaviour management experts, the Restraint Advisory Board.MMPR has been rolled out in all the Secure Training Centres and under 18 Young Offender Institutions. There are no plans to implement this method of restraint in Secure Children’s Homes who have their own restraint procedures.The table below shows data on the number of Incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) in each of the year since 2014 within the under 18 YOIs . RPI is defined as ‘’Any occasion when force is used with the intention of overpowering or to overpower a young person’’. Over power is defined as ‘’restricting movement or mobility. We do not collect data on the role of staff carrying out the restraint technique. No of RPI incidents per year in YOIs20143,13220152,52020162,148Please note:Data on Restrictive Physical Interventions (RPI) are collected via summary level monthly returns. The data provided in this response has been derived from bespoke returns submitted to the Youth Justice Board by establishments.  These data include some 18 year olds who remain in the under 18 YOIs. Data received from the establishments through monthly returns is validated through a reconciliation process on an annual basis. These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing and can be subject to change over time.

Prison Sentences

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners imprisoned for public protection remain imprisioned; and if will he make a statement.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to bring forward the parole hearings of prisoners imprisonment for public protection who have exceeded their minimum term in prison?

Mr Sam Gyimah: As at 30 September 2017, the population of prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences in prisons in England and Wales was 3,162. Of these prisoners, 2,718 have passed their minimum tariff period.These and other statistics specific to those serving indeterminate sentences are published quarterly by the Ministry of Justice here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly I remain committed to ensuring IPP prisoners are able to progress towards release as soon it is safe to do so after their tariff has expired. IPP prisoners are achieving release in high numbers. In the year 2016/17, 46% of IPP prisoners achieved a release decision from the Parole Board, with a further 24% securing a progressive move to open conditions. Less than a third of hearings resulted in a negative outcome. A joint action plan is in place, co-owned by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the Parole Board, with the specific aim of providing as many opportunities for IPP prisoners to progress to safe release as soon as possible. A key part of the action plan has been to ensure that the parole process runs as smoothly as possible so as to provide IPP prisoners with timely access to parole reviews. The Parole Board has effectively eliminated its backlog and is now listing more hearings than ever before.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful prosecutions have been made for the illegal usage of drones in each of the last 12 months.

Dominic Raab: There were 3 convictions for the illegal usage of drones in England and Wales in 2016, the latest year for which data is available. One in each of June, October and December.

Leader of the House

Leader of the House: Staff

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Leader of the House, how many people in her Office with responsibility for social media are employed on an (a) full and (b) part-time basis.

Andrea Leadsom: As set out in the answer from the First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet Office on 23 November there is no one employed in the Cabinet Office who only has responsibility for Social Media, on either a full or part-time basis.

Ministry of Defence

Army

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officers and (b) soldiers there were in the British Army in each year since 2000.

Harriett Baldwin: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



The officer and soldier strengths of the Army at 1 April for each year since 2000 are shown below: Army Full Time Strength  OfficersSoldiers200014,130100,050200114,32099,670200214,550100,240200314,940102,340200415,180102,030200515,04098,370200615,13096,750200715,10095,620200815,09094,620200914,93096,370201015,02098,340201115,02095,460201214,66093,560201314,06089,280201413,36080,840201513,00077,020201612,79075,240201712,91073,870   Future Reserves 2020 Strength  OfficersSoldiers20124,30021,69020134,30020,94020144,35019,23020154,49020,94020164,84023,83020175,10024,840 Notes: 1. Numbers are for trained and untrained personnel and have been produced by Defence Statistics.Full time strength in the above tables includes the trained element which contributes to the liability. e.g. it includes Gurkhas but it excludes Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) Home Commitment (HC) and those FTRS serving on Operational Commitment Establishment (Reserve). As such these may differ from published statistics.3. The Future Reserves 2020 population consists of Group A Army Reserves, some Sponsored Reserves and those personnel serving on FTRS(HC) contracts who were previously Army Reservists. Ministry of Defence does not hold Future Reserves 2020 population data pre – 2012.4. Figures have been rounded to 10, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

EU Defence Policy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the UK programmes providing support for the development of the European Defence Technology Industrial Base.

Harriett Baldwin: Holding answer received on 01 December 2017



As the largest defence spender in Europe, there are a number of UK programmes that support the development of the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base (EDTIB). These include our ongoing investment in Typhoon; the UK-French Maritime Mine Counter-Measure programme; the UK-French Future Anti-Surface Guided Weapon (Heavy) (SeaVenom); the 'METEOR' missile; the A400M; Tornado aircraft; and the UK procurement of the 'AJAX' armoured fighting vehicle.The UK remains an irreplaceable component of European defence capability and is a key industrial partner in European cooperative development programmes. The UK also holds membership of two non-EU intergovernmental agencies; the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation and the Letter of Intent Treaty nations framework which promote the strengthening of the EDTIB.

USA: Counter-terrorism

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2017 to Question 106342, which policy or policies govern UK sharing of intelligence with the US for use in US drone strikes outside of areas of armed conflict.

Mark Lancaster: Prior to sharing intelligence with any nation, regardless of the operation, the UK conducts robust assessments to ensure that our contribution to that operation complies with UK and International Law.

Type 45 Destroyers

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will bring forward the Power Improvement Package for the Type 45 Destroyer to 2018.

Harriett Baldwin: The competitive process for the Power Improvement Project was launched earlier this year and bids are being evaluated. The cost and the schedule for work on the Type 45 Destroyer's Power Improvement Project will be determined at the Main Gate investment decision point, which on current plans will be in early 2018.

Warships: Gulf States

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Royal Naval Ships he plans to deploy to the Gulf to replace HMS Diamond.

Mark Lancaster: Alternative programming options are being considered. Until a decision is made it would be inappropriate to comment any further.

Type 45 Destroyers

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of likely changes to the Type 45 programme for the fitting of the MK 41 Vertical Launch Cells.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer my right hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Procurement (Mr Philip Dunne) on 24 March 2016 to Question 31870 the then MP for Portsmouth South (Mrs Flick Drummond).



31870 - WQnA extract on Type 45 Destroyers
(Word Document, 12.57 KB)

Navy

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the priority tasks are which he has set for the Royal Navy.

Mark Lancaster: Our priorities are to protect our people, project our global influence, promote our prosperity and maintain a strategic base and integrated global support network, and manage the Department of State.In supporting these, the Royal Navy contributes to seven military tasks: defending the UK and its overseas territories; providing strategic intelligence; providing nuclear deterrence; supporting civil emergency organisations in times of crisis; defending our interests by projecting power strategically and through expeditionary interventions; providing a Defence contribution to UK influence, and providing security for stabilisation.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to ensure that the preferred bidder for the general service respirator provides assurance of the quality of the (a) acquisition of tooling for that product, (b) building and testing of assembly lines and production runs for that product, (c) testing of that product at Porton Down and (d) testing of that product by service personnel so that those personnel have confidence in those products.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what extra testing the Department plans to undertake as a result of changing from a single-sourced General Service Respirator where all the components are made by one company to a hybrid respirator where different components are made by different companies.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what risk assessment his Department has undertaken on adopting a hybrid General Service Respirator the components and spares for which are sourced from different manufacturers.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence will undertake full testing of the preferred bidder's proposal for General Service Respirators to ensure that manufacture, testing, supply, performance and quality standards match those of the current in-service equipment. This will include a range of measures to test all hybrid combinations to ensure that Armed Forces personnel are provided with the best equipment that is fit for purpose.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where under the plans of the preferred bidder for the General Service Respirator In Service Support contract will the filters for that respirator be manufactured.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where the filters for the General Service Respirator be manufactured under the plans of the preferred bidder for the in-service support contract.

Harriett Baldwin: No final decisions have been made about where filters for the General Service Respirator will be manufactured. However, the Ministry of Defence will engage with the preferred bidder on all sub-contract arrangements.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to the public purse of his Department's managing both the current General Service Respirator In Service Support contract until 2020 and the new General Service Respirator In Service Support contract from March 2018.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what account his Department has made in retendering for the General Service Respirator In Service Support contract for the potential cost to the public purse of a change of supplier; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse is of testing those components of a hybrid respirator manufactured by different companies in order to ensure the safety of service personnel.

Harriett Baldwin: The investment appraisal for the General Service Respirator requirement was undertaken in line with Departmental policy and considered potential costs, including those associated with managing both the current and new in-service support contracts in parallel until 2020. Overall, the preferred bidder's proposal will provide the best value for money for the Ministry of Defence and the taxpayer.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where under the General Service Respirator In Service Support contract will liability fall in the case of hybrid masks where the mask is made by one company and a filter or other spare is made by another.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that the General Service Respirator In Service Support contract clearly stipulates who assumes liability for all masks, spares and replacement components provided under that contract irrespective of origin and combination.

Harriett Baldwin: A range of issues, including where liability will fall, are being considered as part of the detailed negotiations between the Ministry of Defence and the preferred bidder for the new General Service Respirator in-service support contract.

Ministry of Defence: Staff and Armed Forces

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether civil servants and members of the armed forces working in MoD Main Building are permitted to bring domestic pets to work.

Gavin Williamson: The Ministry of Defence has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department plans to assess the suitability of UK suppliers during the procurement competition for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle Programme.

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will publish an acquisition strategy for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave on 31 October 2017 to Question 109204 to the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Dr Julian Lewis).



109204 - WQnA on Armoured Fighting Vehicles
(Word Document, 12.59 KB)

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding his Department has allocated to the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme.

Harriett Baldwin: The Army has currently provisioned around £9 million for the assessment phase of the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle program, the conclusion of which will determine the full cost. Information relating to the funding of the vehicle prior to contract would not be commercially beneficial to release.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for the Mechanised Infantry Vehicle programme.

Harriett Baldwin: The Secretary of State for Defence has ongoing discussions with the Chancellor on a number of topics.

Minsitry of Defence: Disclosure of information

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department takes to ensure that it (a) seeks the permission of and (b) notifies in advance bereaved families who are named in its reports.

Harriett Baldwin: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) takes great care to respect the wishes of bereaved families. All reports issued by the MOD are redacted in accordance with the principles of data protection legislation, including the removal of names of bereaved family members. While the MOD does not require formal permission from bereaved family members to publish a Service Inquiry (SI), we recognise the sensitive nature of the material and will always endeavour to ensure that next-of-kin are made aware of pending publication. Bereaved families receive a redacted copy of the SI report before publication and are offered a briefing on its content.

Minsitry of Defence: Disclosure of information

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to postpone the publication of the report of the non-statutory inquiry established to investigate the notification and after-care of next-of-kin and families of armed forces personnel recently deceased until he has sought permission of the bereaved families named in that report.

Harriett Baldwin: The Army has postponed the publication of the non-statutory inquiry to address a concern raised by one family.

Armed Forces: Compentation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reasons his Department cannot delay implementation of payments pending the outcome of an incompleted appeal before the Army Board in relation to individuals seeking compensation for having been illegally dismissed from the Armed Forces as a result of a caution.

Harriett Baldwin: The Armed Forces payment system is not designed for, and only has limited capacity, to accommodate individual financial circumstances. Delays to payments can be made in exceptional circumstances. However, in cases where Ministry of Defence considerations are complete, payment will be made as appropriate.

Armed Forces: Compentation

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people have received payments in compensation for having been illegally dismissed from the Armed Forces as a result of a caution; and what the cost to the public purse has been of those payments.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the implications are for the implementation of the provisions of the Military Covenant of not delaying compensation payments when requested to do so for people who have been illegally dismissed from the Armed Forces as a result of a caution.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans on 30 November 2017 to Question 115863. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-11-27/115863/

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Maintenance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time was to implement a change of circumstance request made by a parent with care in respect of a non-resident parent in each of the last 36 months.

Caroline Dinenage: Child Maintenance Service (CMS) does not regularly collate information relating specifically to changes raised by a Receiving Parent (formerly PWC) in respect of a Paying Parent (formerly NRP). The CMS is able to provide information on all change of circumstance requests (those requested by paying or receiving parents) and this is held in the table below.The average clearance time has increased over time as CMS caseload has increased. The data reported excludes those cases belonging to the CSA Scheme, as these cases are characteristically quite different and do not reflect the performance of the CMSScheme. The data available begins in November 2015. MonthAverage Clearance Time (Calendar Days)Nov-156.78Dec-156.90Jan-167.75Feb-167.19Mar-167.89Apr-168.69May-168.78Jun-169.91Jul-169.71Aug-1611.32Sep-1611.76Oct-1610.89Nov-1611.45Dec-1611.90Jan-1712.54Feb-1713.08Mar-1713.40Apr-1715.24May-1716.71Jun-1716.00Jul-1716.78Aug-1716.44Sep-1716.69  CMS change requests require varying times to complete depending upon the nature and complexity of the request. There will always be an element of work on hand awaiting action.

Pensioners: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that UK pensioners in other countries are subject to the same UK pension regulations and UK pension increases irrespective of country of residence.

Guy Opperman: UK State Pensions are payable worldwide to those who are eligible, without regard to nationality. They are up-rated where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in EEA countries and countries where there is a reciprocal agreement in place that allows for up-rating. This has been the policy of successive Governments for around 70 years and the Government has no plans to change this policy.

Housing: Charities

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether additional resources will be made available to housing charities for retraining advisers to deal with the effect of the roll-out of universal credit.

Damian Hinds: At a national level the Universal Credit Programme has been working with a wide range of stakeholder and delivery partners including housing charities to build their understanding of Universal Credit. This includes holding regular meetings and providing upskilling and awareness sessions to help support our mutual customers. The Programme has also built the capability of local partnership facing staff so that they can effectively engage with housing charities, delivery partners and customer representatives. In addition the Programme has developed a suite of products to build the understanding of delivery partners so that they can support claimants and service users at a local level 6 months prior to going live.

National Insurance: Refugees

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his is taking to ensure that national insurance numbers are issued within 28 days for people who have been granted refugee status to avoid a gap between receiving asylum support and jobseeker's allowance or housing benefit.

Caroline Dinenage: For those granted leave to remain as a result of a successful asylum claim, a joint fast track NINo process operates between the Home Office (HO) and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Adult NINo Allocation. This system has been in place since 2005 and means that an application for a NINo is made by the HO on behalf of the individual.We have introduced a new process for those refugees who come to the UK via either the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Programme or the Gateway Protection Programme. Our joint working with the HO enables DWP Adult NINo Allocation to utilise the refugee’s identity and immigration status details provided by the HO immediately before the refugee arrives in the UK; enabling a NINo to be allocated and printed on their Biometric Residence cards (BRP) as soon as the individual enters the UK, helping to join up services between HO, DWP and Local Authorities.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Refugees

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that people granted refugee status receive jobseeker's allowance; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the potential barriers to receiving jobseeker's allowance in respect of a refugee's difficulty (a) in opening a bank account without a permanent address and (b) gaining an address without a bank account.

Caroline Dinenage: People granted refugee status have the same entitlement to benefit as UK citizens. We are working closely with the Home Office to ensure that newly granted refugees are aware of this and receive support to make a claim to benefit where needed. While bank accounts do remain DWP’s preferred method of payment, it is recognised that some customers including refugees, may have difficulty accessing or opening an account before their first payment of benefit is due. In such cases DWP can make payments via alternative methods such as Post Office card accounts, Simple Payments or into a third party account. These payment methods are available to customers without a permanent address.

Winter Fuel Payments

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of moving the date of eligibility for over 80’s winter fuel allowance to the start of the financial year.

Guy Opperman: A person is entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment based on their circumstances in the week beginning on the third Monday in September (known as the qualifying week). This ensures that entitlement relies, among other things, on their age during that week, and it means that most people receive their payment before Christmas. If the qualifying week were moved to the start of the financial year, then those reaching the age of 80 after that week would not receive the higher rate of £300 until the winter after their 81st birthday.

Post Office Card Account

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 108977, on Post Office Card Account, what the annual cost per customer is to the public purse of administering pensions and benefits payments through Post Office Accounts.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 108977, Post Office Card Accounts, what the cost per transaction is to the public purse of administering pensions and benefits payments through Post Office Accounts.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 108977, on Post Office Card Accounts, what the annual cost per person is to the public purse of administering pensions and benefits payments through bank accounts.

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 108977, on Post Office Card Accounts, what the cost per transaction is to the public purse of administering pensions and benefits payments through bank accounts.

Guy Opperman: The information requested in respect of the cost per customer and cost per transaction is commercially sensitive. The total cost of administering pensions and benefits through post office card accounts over the life of the contract is £250.9m from December 2014 to November 2021. The administration of DWP pensions and benefit payments through bank accounts is managed under the HMRC Government Banking Service Money Transmission Services Contract. The total cost over the life of the contract to DWP is £14.8m from September 2016 to June 2023 In line with our wider policy on financial inclusion we have always made it clear that payment into a bank, building society or credit union is the preferred way pension and benefits are paid. Access to appropriate mainstream financial services, that meet the customer’s needs, is important to support personal and financial independence. There are now fewer barriers to prevent people from using bank accounts. The nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account, provided that the customer is legally resident in the EU. Basic bank accounts minimise the risk of unarranged overdrafts and end bank charges if a direct debit or standing order fails. The Department for Work and Pensions committed in 2014 to maintain Post Office card account until 2021, to ensure that these customers can continue to access their benefits and pensions in this way.

Pensions and Social Security Benefits: Automated Credit Transfer

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what comparative assessment he has made of levels of indebtedness among people who use (a) bank accounts and (b) Post Office Card Accounts for payment of pensions and benefits.

Guy Opperman: The Department has not carried out a comparative assessment. In line with our wider policy on financial inclusion we have always made it clear that payment into a bank, building society or credit union is the preferred way pension and benefits are paid. Access to appropriate mainstream financial services, that meet the customer’s needs, is important to support personal and financial independence. There are now fewer barriers to prevent people from using bank accounts. The nine largest personal current account providers in the UK are legally required to offer basic bank accounts to customers who do not have a bank account or who are ineligible for a bank’s standard current account, provided that the customer is legally resident in the EU. Basic bank accounts minimise the risk of unarranged overdrafts and end bank charges if a direct debit or standing order fails.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) the Phone-paid Services Authority on call connection service access to the helplines his Department provides.

Caroline Dinenage: Before engaging with Ofcom or the Phone-paid Services Authority, the Department for Work and Pensions is initiating discussions with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to discuss our approach.

Department for Work and Pensions: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) the gov.uk website and (b) internet providers advertise the correct information about the cost of calls to his Department's helplines (i) before and (ii) after calls to those lines become free of charge.

Caroline Dinenage: a) All information is controlled centrally and The Department for Work and Pensions regularly reviews and updates the data held on gov.uk to ensure it remains accurate. b) Where the department identifies that a website fails to publicise, or advertises incorrect call costs, the Department will make a referral to the National Trading Standards Board (NTSB) to investigate and prosecute if appropriate following investigation. Both these activities will continue after freephone numbers are introduced across all the department’s customer phone lines.

Budgeting Loans

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much funding has been provided for Social Fund Budgeting Loans in each of the last 10 years; and how much funding will be provided in each of the next five years.

Caroline Dinenage: Recoveries of the existing Social Fund debt stock are used to fund new Budgeting Loan payments therefore no funding is provided by Parliament, the money available is limited each year by the level of recoveries expected.

State Retirement Pensions

Tommy Sheppard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what age group his Department's advertising campaign to encourage people to check the value of their State Pension is intended to target.

Guy Opperman: The ‘Get to know your State Pension’ campaign encourages people of working age to use the Check your State Pension service for a forecast of their entitlement and their State Pension age. More than 6 million forecasts have now been issued by the service. Whilst the campaign is primarily aimed at those aged 40 to State Pension age, advertising through most channels will reach all age groups.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Animal Welfare

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what priority his Department accords to animal sentience when setting its policies on animal welfare standards.

George Eustice: The Secretary of State set out the Government’s position in a Written Ministerial Statement on 23 November: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Commons/2017-11-23/HCWS267/

Game: Animal Breeding

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will review the effectiveness of the Statutory Code of Practice for the welfare of game birds reared for sporting purposes.

George Eustice: The statutory Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds Reared for Sporting Purposes provides keepers with guidance on how to meet the welfare needs of their gamebirds as required by the Animal Welfare Act 2006. We are considering how best to engage with industry to identify and disseminate best practice and ensure effective enforcement. Any future update of the gamebird code will consider further improvements.

Fracking: Ryedale

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether, as part of consideration of the application by Third Energy for hydraulic fracturing consent for the KM8 wellsite in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, he assessed the volume of (a) Glycol, (b) Methanol, (c) corrosion inhibitor and (d) bleach used at the KM3 well at Ryedale in each year of that well’s operational life; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether, as part of consideration of the application by Third Energy for hydraulic fracturing consent for the KM8 wellsite in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, he assessed the procedure for cleaning the lines and taking the odour out of the gas over the lifetime of the KM3 well at Ryedale; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the KM3 well at Ryedale, North Yorkshire, if he will conduct an urgent investigation into (a) the type and volume of chemicals which have been put down that well and (b) whether fractures have been caused by those chemicals; and if he will suspend any decision on fracking at KM8 Ryedale until the completion of that investigation.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is carefully considering the application submitted by Third Energy for the Kirby Misperton well-site (KM8) and will respond in due course.Any concerns regarding the chemicals used in the KM3 well should be directed to the Environment Agency.

Food: Waste Disposal

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of introducing separate food waste collections on the quantity of food waste produced by households.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Defra has not made an assessment on the effect introducing separate food waste collections would have on the quantity of food waste produced by households.   Decisions on collection arrangements are for local councils to make, taking into account local circumstances.

Food: Origin Marking

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the value the 84 Protected Geographical Indicators add to the rural economy

George Eustice: Exports of products from the UK’s 84 geographical indications (GIs) are valued at approximately £5bn per year, and about £1billion in domestic sales. Much of the production takes place in rural, often remote, areas providing vital input to local economies. This includes, for example, Scotch whisky and Scottish farmed salmon which are the UK’s two largest GI exports by value, and Welsh lamb, as well as smaller-scale products like Stornoway Black Pudding and Yorkshire Wensleydale cheese. GI protection acts in two ways to add value to rural economies. Firstly, it increases the value of the protected products. Academic studies suggest that UK consumers are prepared to pay between 7% and 20% more for GI products, though this varies considerably from product to product. Secondly, it protects sales volumes, particularly of exports, by preventing others from imitating the genuine article.

Animal Grooming: Regulation

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of regulation of the animal grooming sector.

George Eustice: In our review of animal activity licensing by local authorities we considered bringing certain activities not currently subject to licensing into the licensing system including dog grooming salons. We invited evidence from stakeholders of significant issues with this sector that could not be resolved through action under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and no evidence has been made available. It remains the case that any concerns about a particular animal grooming salon should be reported to the relevant local authority who have powers to investigate such matters under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Regulations updating and strengthening the licensing controls on dog breeding, pet sales and other specific activities involving animals will be laid in Parliament in the New Year.

Slaughterhouses: Animal Welfare

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if the Government will ban non-stun animal slaughter.

George Eustice: We are clear that animals must be stunned before slaughter unless they are being slaughtered for religious purposes. The law enables people of Jewish or Muslim faith to eat meat killed in accordance with their religious beliefs. There are strict rules to provide the maximum possible protection to animals subject to religious slaughter.

Cetaceans: Conservation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the provisions under EC Regulation 812/2004, requiring the monitoring of the number of dolphins, whales and porpoise that are killed as a result of unintentional capture in fishing nets, will be maintained after the UK has left the EU.

George Eustice: The Government has been clear that the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill ensures that, so far as possible, the same rules and laws will apply on the day after exit as on the day before. EC Regulation 812/2004 will be brought across through the Withdrawal Bill.

Waste Disposal: North East

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many waste transfer sites with an environmental permit in the North East of England have been in breach of the requirements of their permit in the last five years and if he will publish the reasons for the breaches in those permits.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency does not record permit breaches in a way which enables it to report on the total number of waste transfer stations which have been in breach of their permit requirements in the last five years. The table below provides a breakdown of the number of breaches of permits at waste transfer stations in the North East of England in the last five years and the reasons for the breaches to those permits. Poor performing sites may have multiple condition breaches recorded in one visit. Description of condition breach20122013201420152016a1 Specified by permit1018252826b1 Infrastructure-engineering for prevent. of emissions49242014b2 Infrastructure-closure and decommissioning02000b3 Infrastructure-site drainage engineering1361777b4 Infrastructure-containment of stored materials616292929b5 Infrastructure-plant and equipment11152c1 General Management-staff competency/training310262019c2 General Management-management systems1444455046c3 General Management-materials acceptance712132327c4 General Management-storage, handling etc3349655638d1 Incident Management-security7131331d2 Incident Management-accidents/emergency. planning03156e1 Emissions-air0642e2 Emissions-land and groundwater01011e3 Emissions-surface water10010e4 Emissions-sewer00000e5 Emissions-waste01110f1 Amenity-odour101993f2 Amenity-noise00002f3 Amenity-dust/fibres/litter etc6871513f4 Amenity-pests/birds/scavengers17297115f5 Amenity-deposits on road45344g1 Mon & Records-emissions and environment01000g2 Mon & Records-records of activity/site diary/etc2121110g3 Mon & Records-maintenance records00000g4 Mon & Records-reporting and notification. to Agency732226100104Total145286518395354

Waste Disposal: North East

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many waste transfer sites in the North East which accepted waste in 2016 had complaints investigated by (a) the Environment Agency and (b) local authority environment health departments on (I) all environmental issues, (ii) excessive noise, (iii) odour, (iv) dust and (v) fly infestation.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Environment Agency (EA) received 6 complaints relating to waste transfer stations in the North East in 2016. Of these, one complaint related to odour and four complaints related to fly infestation. None of these complaints related to excessive noise or dust. The EA investigates and responds to all formal complaints. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs does not hold data on the number of complaints which have been investigated by local authorities.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Staff

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many staff his Department will employ by the time the UK leaves the EU, and what change there has been in that estimate since the last estimate made before June 2016.

George Eustice: Over 80% of Defra’s agenda is affected by the UK’s departure from the European Union and as a result, many roles across the Defra group are now supporting EU exit-related work, either directly or indirectly. We continue to keep our resourcing plans under review, focusing both on recruitment and increasing the capability of new and existing staff. Since June 2016, Defra has recruited over 550 additional staff to support our comprehensive programme of work to prepare for leaving the EU. The majority of these new staff are employed in the central department where they are working on a range of projects identified to enable a successful withdrawal from the EU.

Floods: Insurance

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many home insurance policies have been affected by the Flood Re scheme.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: In its first year of operation Flood Re covered over 127,000 policies. Flood Re plans to publish figures on the last 6 months shortly.Before the introduction of Flood Re, only 9% of householders who had made prior flood claims could get quotes from two or more insurers, with 0% being able to get quotes from five or more. By December 2016, 84% householders could get quotes from five or more insurers while 95% could get quotes from two or more. 80% householders with previous flood claims saw a reduction in the price of available quotes of more than 50% after the introduction of Flood Re.

Farms: Tenancy Agreements

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had on reforming farm tenancies.

George Eustice: Ministers and officials have discussed a range of issues relating to agricultural tenancies with the Tenancy Reform Industry Group and other stakeholders as we design a future agricultural policy to support our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food. We invited views from the Tenancy Reform Industry Group earlier this summer on a number of issues linked to supporting new entrants to the industry. They recently published some proposals which are available on their members’ websites.

Agriculture: Subsidies

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he plans to include proposals for subsidies or schemes to encourage the growing of protein crops and pulses in the forthcoming Agriculture White Paper and Bill.

George Eustice: Leaving the EU gives us an opportunity to set new policies which specifically benefit British agriculture and the environment. We are exploring various options to achieve these aims. The Agriculture Bill will deliver a range of reforms and move away from the constraints and bureaucracy of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Government plans to engage widely ahead of its introduction and will endeavour to take every opportunity to listen to the views of members and peers, as well as public and stakeholder consultation.

Droughts: South of England

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likely threat of drought in the East and South East of England; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Last winter and this autumn saw low rainfall in the east and south east of England and groundwater aquifers and some reservoirs are below normal levels. The Environment Agency is closely monitoring the situation and is working with water companies, businesses and farmers to prepare for potential consequences of continued dry weather in 2018. For the longer term, Defra is working with the Environment Agency and Ofwat to ensure that water companies increase their resilience to droughts and reduce the risk of any future restrictions on water use.

Flood Control: Morecambe and Lunesdale

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether Morecambe and Lunesdale will be eligible for funding from the additional £76 million announced for flood defence schemes in the Autumn Budget; what the (a) qualifiying criteria and (b) process for application for that funding will be; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: £36 million will be invested in schemes using the same criteria as for other projects in our current record level six-year capital improvement programme to better protect 300,000 homes by 2021. This funding is focused on maximising the economic benefits of Government’s investment and the number of homes better protected. The remaining £40 million will be particularly focused on deprived communities at a high risk of flooding. We will announce the criteria for this funding in due course. Regional flood and coastal committees will liaise with the Environment Agency locally to clarify their flood and coastal defence improvement needs, and ensure these are well understood when funding becomes available.

Home Office

Strategic Migration Partnerships: Finance

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding her Department allocated to the strategic migration partnerships in each of the last three years.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office publishes data on all monthly spending, including grant payments to local authorities, in excess of £25,000. This data can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/home-office-spending

Passports: Postal Services

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many complaints her Department has received on the performance of the courier company DX in relation to its contract to deliver UK passports on behalf of the Passport Office in each of the last five years.

Brandon Lewis: Her Majesty’s Passport Office does not record the number of complaints received that relate to the delivery of a UK passport by any further subset. It is therefore not possible to identify the number of complaints that have been made in relation to DX’s contract to deliver UK passports.

HM Passport Office: Luton

Mr Gavin Shuker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the five nearest Passport interview offices to Luton are by journey time; and what benchmark journey times his Department used in its decision to close the office in Luton.

Brandon Lewis: Her Majesty’s Passport Office provides an online service where by entering their postcode, customers can find their nearest passport interview office. Find a passport interview office can be found on GOV.UK at the following address: https://www.gov.uk/passport-interview-office Minimising the impact upon customers was a key consideration in the decision to close the Luton interview office, with the distance and time for travel to the closest passport interview office in London being in line with many other parts of the UK.

Marriage Certificates

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress she has made on the implementation of her policy to  include mothers names on marriage certificates.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to the Hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn on 2 December 2016, UIN 55490.

British Nationals Abroad: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Home Department, what advice her Department gives to people travelling abroad on the legality of possessing (a) melanin pills and (b) other medications in other countries.

Victoria Atkins: Melanin is not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 so no advice is given by the Home Office to people travelling abroad with this substance. For other medicines, which contain controlled drugs and have been prescribed to them personally, travellers are always advised to check with the relevant foreign embassy or high commission before travel to ascertain the legality of the product in the destination country and any applicable licensing requirements. An import/export licence may be issued by the Home Office in certain circumstances to cover the crossing of UK borders. More information is available on the Home Office website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/controlled-drugs-licences-fees-and-returns#applying-for-a-licence-travellers

Crime and Offences Against Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the factors behind the increase in (a) complex crimes rates, and (b) child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Victoria Atkins: In the year to June 2017, there were 50,450 child sex offences (excluding indecent image offences) recorded by the police, up 20% from 42,150 offences recorded in the year to June 2016 (Office for National Statistics, 2017). The increase in the number of offences recorded is thought to be the result of increased willingness to report among victims and action taken by police forces to improve their compliance with the National Crime Reporting Standard (given the renewed focus on the accuracy of crime recording). We do not hold information on ‘complex crime rates’.

Fracking

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of policing fracking sites.

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of policing fracking sites by police force in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: No specific estimates have been made of the costs of policing fracking sites. It is an operational decision for Chief Constables, working with their Police and Crime Commissioner, to determine the levels of resources required.

Proof of Identity: South East

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people born on 3 May 2000 or earlier are in possession of a Proof of Age Standards Scheme card registered in (a) Woking, (b) Gosport, (c) Bromley or (d) Watford local authority who are aged (i) under 24, (ii) 25 to 49, (iii) 50 to 64 and (iv) 65 or older.

Victoria Atkins: The Government does not hold information on the number of people born on 3 May 2000 or earlier that are in possession of a Proof of Age Standards Scheme card.

Crime Prevention: Cash Dispensing

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with representatives of the banking and security industries on the development of new technology to prevent criminal attacks on ATM cash machines.

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with representatives of the banking and security industries on steps to tackle the recent increase in criminal attacks on ATM cash machines.

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with police forces in the (a) East Midlands, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Bristol areas on the recent increase in criminal attacks on ATM cash machines.

Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will make an assessment on the effectiveness of Gryphon as a means of protection against criminal attacks on ATM cash machines.

Mr Ben  Wallace: We keep all crime threats under review, and work with the police and other partners to determine whether there is more to be done to address specific threats. We have not had any recent discussions specifically about criminal attacks on ATM cash machines, but we will look carefully at recent trends as part of our ongoing work with the police and relevant industry leads to tackle new and emerging crime threats.

Airguns: Licensing

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to announce the details and scope of her review of air gun licensing in England and Wales.

Mr Nick Hurd: I announced recently my intention to review the regulation of air weapons, and details of the scope of this review, and how to participate, will be set out shortly. We will also be writing to a number of interested parties shortly, seeking their views on the issues that arise as part of this review.

Slavery

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to findings by ECPAT UK of November 2017 on calls for reform of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) by front-line professionals, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making the NRM part of the existing child protection system.

Victoria Atkins: We recognise the essential role local authorities play in the safeguarding of all children in their care, regardless of their backgrounds or experiences. It is absolutely right that local authorities continue to make decisions about the placement and welfare of children they have responsibility for, which includes assessing risks such as trafficking, and considering the need to refer them to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM).The recently announced package of reforms to the NRM includes a number of measures that will improve the process for both adults and children. A single expert unit will be created in the Home Office to handle all cases referred from front line staff and to make decisions about whether somebody is a victim of modern slavery. This will replace the current case management units in the National Crime Agency and UK Visas and Immigration and will be separate from the immigration system.In addition government will be introducing an independent panel of experts to review all negative conclusive grounds decisions, adding significantly to the scrutiny such cases currently receive.

Asylum: Sanitary Protection

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the ability to afford sanitary products of people who are seeking asylum pending the outcome of their application; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: Asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with accommodation and a cash allowance to cover their essential living needs. The level of the allowance is reviewed each year and the review takes account of the cost of sanitary products. A report of the most recent review can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-cash-allowance-paid-to-asylum-seekers The assessment of the cost of sanitary products can be found at Annex A to the report.

Police and Crime Commissioners

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police and crime commissioners employ a deputy commissioner or deputy commissioners, and what the average salary of a deputy police and crime commissioner has been in each year since 2012.

Mr Nick Hurd: PCCs may appoint a deputy should they wish, and the decision of who to appoint as a deputy is a matter for the publicly accountable PCC. PCCs appoint their deputies in an open and transparent way. This includes a public confirmation hearing by the relevant Police and Crime Panel, who must review the proposed appointment and make a recommendation on whether the candidate should be appointed. Under paragraph 1(a) and (c) of Schedule 1 of the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information) Order 2011, PCCs are obliged to publish the name and salary of each relevant office holder, which includes any deputy PCC.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many EU citizens currently have indefinite leave to remain, as opposed to permanent residency, broken down by nationality.

Brandon Lewis: Information on the total stock of those granted Indefinite Leave to Remain, by nationality, is not held by the Home Office. The figure will constantly evolve as some may have died, loss such status, or subsequently applied for and been granted UK citizenship.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EU citizens who have indefinite leave to remain will be required to apply for settled status.

Sir Edward Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether EU citizens who have historically been granted indefinite leave to remain will retain the same rights after the UK leaves the EU.

Brandon Lewis: EU citizens with indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK will not need to apply for settled status once the UK has left the European Union (EU). Their incumbent rights and privileges will not be affected by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.

Children: Protection

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effect of the reduction in neighbourhood policing on the ability of police forces to protect vulnerable children.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to make decisions on the size, composition and deployment of the workforce including police community support officers, in line with local needs and priorities. Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are elected by the public to hold Chief Constables and the force to account; making the police answerable to the communities they serve.We are undertaking a programme of engagement with the police to understand the impact of changing demands, and to hear how the police are managing these. That includes what more can be done to improve productivity and efficiency, reduce bureaucracy, and make prudent use of financial reserves.

Drugs: Misuse

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of (a) evidence and (b) recommendations regarding Drug Consumptions Rooms reported by the (i) Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs and (ii) Volteface report, entitled Back Yard.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has no plans to introduce drug consumption rooms. A range of offences are likely to be committed in the operation of drug consumption rooms. It is for local police forces to enforce the law in such circumstances and, as with other offences of this type, we would expect them to do so. The Government has responded to the advice of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on Opioid-related deaths. The Government response is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drug-misuse-and-dependency-government-responses-to-acmd-reports.

Domestic Violence

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of police officers in England and Wales have received training on controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship since 29 December 2015?

Mr Nick Hurd: Data on police training is not collected centrally by the Home Office. Police training and guidance are the responsibility of the College of Policing. The College has launched a new training programme developed by the voluntary sector called ‘Domestic Abuse Matters’ which focuses on improved evidence gathering and understanding of controlling and coercive behaviour. Latest data from the College of Policing indicates that this training has been rolled out across eight forces and plans are in place to roll out in a further two. In addition, the College national curriculum relating to domestic abuse and coercive control is embedded in full into national recruit training, and the College has published Authorised Professional Practice on investigating domestic violence and abuse capturing controlling or coercive behaviour.

Islamic State: British Nationals Abroad

Trudy Harrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has made an estimate of the number of Daesh fighters and supporters who have returned to the UK from both Iraq and Syria since January 2017.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Approximately 850 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage with the Syrian conflict. We estimate that just under half have returned and approximately 15% are now dead. This number includes all those of national security concern, not just those affiliated with Daesh. Everyone who returns from taking part in the conflict in Syria or Iraq must expect to be investigated by the police to determine if they have committed criminal offences, and to ensure that they do not pose a threat to our national security. Due to national security we cannot provide a further breakdown of the figures.

Brook House Immigration Removal Centre

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average annual cost is of detaining a person in Brook House.

Brandon Lewis: The information is commercially sensitive and release could prejudice HO interests.

Immigrants: Detainees

Mr Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of people released from Immigration Removal Centres in the detention estate were released into the UK in the past 12 months.

Brandon Lewis: Reasons for leaving detention by quarter may be found in table dt_06_q of the detention tables in the latest releases of ‘Immigration Statistics, July to September 2017’, available from the Home Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/662536/detention-jul-sep-2017-tables.ods

Members: Correspondence

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when the Minister of State for Immigration plans to reply to the correspondence sent by the hon. Member for Nottingham North on 14 November 2017?

Brandon Lewis: The Minister of State for Immigration replied to your correspondence on 29 November 2017.

Independent Police Complaints Commission

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date she plans to replace the existing Chief Executive and Chair of the Independent Police Complaints Commission as part of the establishment of the Independent Office for Police Conduct?

Mr Nick Hurd: As announced on 20 October 2017, the reforms to the governance of the Independent Police Complaints Commission will be implemented in January 2018, including the establishment of the new Director General role and unitary board, at which time the IPCC will be renamed the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Registration of Births, Deaths, Marriages and Civil Partnerships: Cohabitation

Michelle Donelan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to review the categories for registering a death of an unmarried partner to include partner and not simply disposing of the body.

Brandon Lewis: The introduction of additional qualified informants will be progressed alongside wider Death Certification Reform under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009.

Home Office: Brexit

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the (a) number of officials to be employed by her Department and (b) her Department's payroll in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019, (iii) 2020, (iv) 2021 and (v) 2022 as a result of the UK leaving EU.

Brandon Lewis: The Home Office constantly monitors the capabilities it needs to deliver the Government’s agenda. With EU exit negotiations underway, we continue to assess how this, alongside our other priorities, will impact on the workforce and capabilities required. Any resulting changes to resource requirements will be factored into strategic planning.

Home Office: Brexit

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate she has made of the additional funding required by her Department over the next two years to prepare effectively for the UK leaving the EU.

Brandon Lewis: We have agreed with HMT additional funding of £60m to support Brexit planning and implementation work in 2017/18. Future years requirements are still under discussion with HMT and announcements will be made in due course.

Asylum

Thelma Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to take steps to increase the period of time refugees continue to receive support after receiving a positive decision on their asylum application to 50 days.

Brandon Lewis: There are no plans to increase the period to 50 days. If an asylum seeker receiving support from the Home Office is granted refugee status they are given notice that their support will stop 28 days later and provided with a Biometric Residence Permit (BRP). The BRP is the main document they need to prove their eligibility to take employment or apply for benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions. Additionally, under new arrangements the Home Office offers the refugee assistance to make a benefits claim by arranging an appointment with a local DWP office. The Home Office also issues the refugee with a national insurance number (NINO). Possession of a NINO at this stage is not essential to make a benefits application as the DWP can provide one as part of the benefits claim process. We have, however, been working to ensure that the NINO is issued at the same time as the BRP and plan to implement a new process in the new year whereby the number is printed on the BRP.

Scotland Office

Offshore Structures: Scotland

Jamie Stone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether there are any plans to identify a redundant floating oil exploration platform and convert it into a museum of the history of Scotland and North Sea Oil.

David Mundell: The UK Government currently has no such plans, but my officials would be happy to discuss any proposals brought forward. A substantial part of the Aberdeen Maritime museum is dedicated to Oil and Gas and there is also a cross industry and academic project, supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy called ‘Capturing the Energy’ which aims to archive and digitise important information about the UK offshore oil and gas industry.

HM Treasury

NHS Pay Review Body

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to introduce an independent NHS Pay Review Body.

Elizabeth Truss: The independent NHS Pay Review Body (NHSPRB) exists and advises on the pay of NHS staff (this includes nurses, midwives, paramedics and all other staff on the national Agenda for Change pay system). There is also an independent pay review body that advises on the pay of doctors and dentists, the Doctors and Dentists Remuneration Body (DDRB).

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Martyn Day: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will issue guidance to HMRC on unjust enrichment following the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust case.

Mel Stride: The administration of the tax system, including where appropriate the repayment of tax or duties, is a matter for HM Revenue and Customs. It would not be appropriate for Treasury Ministers to become involved in specific cases.

Roadchef: Employee Benefit Trusts

Jeremy Lefroy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representation he has received on the repayment of monies held by HMRC to the Roadchef Employees Benefit Trust.

Mel Stride: The Government receives representations on a wide range of issues. It is not normal practice to release details of representations regarding specific cases.

Public Finance

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the budget deficit was in 2010; what his most recent estimate of the budget deficit is; and what forecast he has made of the budget deficit in 2019.

Stephen Barclay: We have made significant progress in reducing the deficit from its post-war peak of 9.9% of GDP in 2009-10 to 2.3% of GDP in 2016-17. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts it will fall further to 1.6% of GDP in 2019-20.

Credit: Regulation

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the Financial Conduct Authority to regulate the rent-to-own sector by capping the total cost of goods bought through rent-to-own.

Stephen Barclay: Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. This includes regular meetings with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss relevant regulatory issues. The government transferred the regulation of consumer credit, including rent-to-own, to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in 2014. The government has given the FCA strong powers to protect consumers, including the power to cap all forms of credit, and the FCA can do so if it thinks it is necessary to protect consumers. In 2015, the FCA capped the cost of payday lending, and the FCA has said that it will keep the issue of capping the cost of credit in other markets under review. The government welcomes the ongoing work of the FCA to review the high-cost credit market, including the rent-to-own sector. The FCA published a feedback statement in July 2017, noting concerns with rent-to-own, catalogue credit, home-collected credit, and overdrafts. The FCA aims to consult on proposed remedies in Spring 2018.

Social Services: Finance

Mr Clive Betts: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made of the adequacy of social care funding prior to Autumn Budget 2017.

Elizabeth Truss: Recognising the challenges of an ageing and growing population, Spring Budget 2017 announced £2 billion additional funding for adult social care to meet social care needs, reduce pressures on NHS services, and support the social care provider market.

Public Sector: Pay

Anna McMorrin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of changes in the level of income of public sector employees since the public sector pay cap was introduced.

Elizabeth Truss: The ONS publishes the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), which includes median gross annual earnings in the public sector. A time series of this data from 1997 to 2017 can be accessed via the following link: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/ashe1997to2015selectedestimates

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Paula Sherriff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November to Question 115565, how much the devolved administrations receive from the Barnett formula arising from the soft drinks industry levy-funded spending package in each financial year of the current spending review period.

Elizabeth Truss: The Soft Drinks Industry Levy applies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, the new levy revenue will be invested in giving school-aged children a brighter and healthier future. The Barnett formula will apply to this spending in the normal way, and it will be for the Devolved Administrations to choose how they allocate this funding. As a result of funding allocated for these purposes to the Department for Education at Budget 2016,In 2016/17 the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and a Northern Ireland Executive will receive £0.3m, £0.2m and £0.1m respectively.In 2017/18, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and a Northern Ireland Executive will receive £16.4m, £9.5m and £5.5m respectively.In 2018/19, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and a Northern Ireland Executive will receive £36.7m, £21.2m and £12.3m respectively.In 2019/2020, the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and a Northern Ireland Executive will receive £44.8m, £28.9m and £15m respectively. Subsequent changes to the levy-funded spending package in England have had no impact on these allocations.

Students: Fees and Charges

Angela Rayner: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Autumn Budget 2017, Table 1.9, whether the projected effect of the tuition fee cap freeze in financial years 2020-21 to 2022-23 is based on the tuition fee cap freeze ending after financial year 2019-20.

Elizabeth Truss: As set out by the Universities Minister in his Written Ministerial Statement of 9th October, the government has frozen university tuition fee caps for the 2018/19 academic year at the same levels as 2017/18. The Autumn Budget 2017 costings are calculated on that basis. The 2018/19 freeze also has an effect in future years when compared to the previous forecast, because in each future year the maximum fee cap will be lower than it would have been prior to the freeze being introduced. Ministers confirm fee levels and student support prior to each academic year.

Public Sector: Pay

Stephanie Peacock: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Autumn Budget 2017, paragraph 6.27, what his policy is on public sector pay awards in financial year 2018-19 for employees not covered by an independent Pay Review Body.

Elizabeth Truss: Workforces not covered by pay review bodies include local government, the fire service and the majority of civil servants. Central government has no role in setting pay awards for Local Authority workers or the fire services. These are considered by the National Joint Council, for Local Government Services, and the National Joint Council for Local Authority Fire and Rescue Services respectively. Pay policy for the civil service (excluding senior civil servants) will be set in the usual way through the remit guidance for 2018-19.

Children: Day Care

Tracy Brabin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of parents who have successfully applied for tax-free childcare are self-employed.

Elizabeth Truss: Around 10% of successful applicants for Tax-Free Childcare are self-employed or have a partner who is self-employed. Self-employed parents do not have access to Employer Supported Childcare.

Public Sector: Redundancy Pay

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the timetable is to bring forward the secondary legislation  to place an upper limit on the value of public sector exit payments; and if he will make a statement.

Elizabeth Truss: We’re committed to placing an upper limit on the value of public sector exit payments – that’s why we legislated in the 2016 Act and will be laying the necessary regulations. Before we do so, and to ensure the successful implementation of these changes, we will bring forward a consultation in the first quarter of 2018 which will run for 12 weeks.

Business Premises: Valuation

Bill Esterson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2017 to Question 115208 on business premises: valuation, what plans he has to change the amount charged by the Valuation Office Agency to revalue properties for business rates purposes.

Mel Stride: The Valuation Office Agency does not charge ratepayers for undertaking property valuations and has no plans to do so.

Cabinet Office

Government Chief Scientific Adviser

Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the criteria for the recruitment of the position of Government Chief Scientific Adviser.

Damian Green: Applications for the position of Government Chief Scientific Adviser were assessed against the following criteria which were published in the Candidate Information Pack on 24 February 2017. A first class reputation in science or engineering demonstrated by international recognition, Fellowship of the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering or equivalent, and a strong research and publication record. The ability to assimilate, evaluate and interpret scientific findings and advice across the full spectrum of disciplines, where necessary at short notice and under pressure, to command the confidence and support of Ministers and senior officials. Excellent policy and analytical skills at the strategic level, and the ability to work at the highest levels across academia, business and government departments, exercising impartial and objective judgement, to achieve the best results for the Government. Highly developed communication skills with the ability to adapt to the needs of a diverse range of audiences, including the public, to deliver information with authority and sensitivity, particularly in times of crisis. The ability to manage the Government Office for Science by communicating a clear vision and motivating and driving staff to reach their full potential. Effective leadership skills and the ability to put into place systems, people and skills to enable the office to deliver its objectives and ensure future capability to meet the challenges ahead. The gravitas and experience to provide leadership as the Head of Profession to the Government Science and Engineering Profession and to play an active role as a member of the Top 200 group of civil servants. This includes contributing to the corporate Civil Service agenda and by participating in weekly meetings of Permanent Secretaries and other governance groups of Permanent Secretaries as required. The ability to build on and develop influential networks across academia, government, industry and other stakeholders, nationally and internationally.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Taxation

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will publish all external guidance and advice his Department has received on the proposals to adopt the lesser duty rule as part of any future trade remedy scheme as set out in the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Bill.

Gareth Snell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what external advice he has received on the application of an economic interest test as part of any future trade remedy scheme after the UK leaves the EU.

Mark Garnier: The UK’s trade remedies regime will provide robust protections for UK industry suffering from injury, caused by dumped or subsidised imports, or unforeseen import surges. To ensure these protections are proportionate, the regime will set measures at the level necessary to address the injury to UK industry (known as the lesser duty rule), and apply an economic interest test as part of the independent investigation process (similar to the existing Union interest test in the EU).We have been engaging with stakeholders on how these elements of the regime will work in practice, and are committed to continuing that engagement. This process will also be informed by economic research commissioned by this Department through public tender to provide evidence on the design and implementation of a future trade remedies framework.

Antidumping Duties

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to his oral contribution on 23 November, what representations he has received from business organisations on the application of the lesser duty rule after the UK has left the EU.

Mark Garnier: I refer the Hon Member for Sefton Central to the answer I gave to the Hon Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central today, UIN: 115256.

Iron and Steel: China

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether the Government has made an assessment of whether the Chinese Government has been involved in steel dumping in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Hands: Trade remedies are an EU competence. It is for industry to demonstrate prima facie evidence of dumping that is causing material injury to EU producers, to the European Commission. We encourage industry to present this evidence to the Commission, where there is evidence of dumping and material injury. Where evidence is sufficient to justify an investigation, the Commission will do so and present any proposals for applying duties to Member States. The EU currently has 45 measures in place against steel or steel products, 19 of which are against China. As we operate our independent trade policy, we will put in place our own trade remedies framework.

Department for International Trade: Brexit

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what estimate he has made of changes in the number of staff at each grade and salary band which will be needed in his Department after the UK leaves the EU.

Greg Hands: The Department for International Trade was established as a direct result of the referendum decision to leave the EU. The Department was established to secure UK and global prosperity by promoting and financing international trade and investment and championing free trade. Since the department’s formation in July 2016, we continue to keep departmental resources under review, which will need to remain flexible, dependant in part on the ongoing nature of the negotiations with the EU.

Trade Promotion

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 27 November 2017 on trade matters,  HCWS271, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of appointing the nine Her Britannic Majesty's Trade Commissioners.

Greg Hands: Department for International Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Soft Drinks: Caffeine and Sugar

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what progress her Department has made with the food, drink and advertising industries on discouraging the promotion of high caffeine and sugar energy drinks at sporting events.

Tracey Crouch: Sporting Future: A New Strategy for an Active Nation published in 2015 committed government to continue to discuss with sports the scope for voluntary agreements on high fat sugar and salt (HFSS) food sponsorship. Working with Department of Health, Public Health England, the Sport and Recreation Alliance and sports organisations we developed a set of principles for sports bodies to consider when entering into relationships that relate to HFSS products. These principles were set out in Sport England's wider guidance to sports bodies on commercial sponsorship in May this year. This included ensuring monies received are reinvested into developing and promoting sport and providing information to consumers on the content of food and drink available at sporting events. In addition, Public Health England (PHE) are leading a programme to reduce the levels of sugar in key foods that contribute most to children’s sugar intakes by 20% by 2020.

European City of Culture

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether all entrants bidding to be part of the European City of Culture 2023 programme are from countries that are (a) EU member states, (b) EFTA member states, (c) formally negotiating to become EU member states or (d) holders of associate status.

John Glen: The current European Parliament and Council decision (Decision No 445/2014/EU) reserves the title in 2023 for the UK and Hungary only, as Member States. The decision makes provision for non-Member States which are EFTA or EEA countries, candidate countries for EU membership, or potential candidate countries, to host the programme in specific years, as set out in the Annex to the decision.

Gambling

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of whether the gambling industry has invested 0.1 per cent of gross gaming yield in supporting those who suffer from gambling-related harm in the last year.

Tracey Crouch: In its Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice the Gambling Commission requires all operators licensed under the Gambling Act 2005 to make a contribution towards the research, prevention and treatment of gambling-related harm. The Commission does not specify how much this should be nor which organisation should receive it, although it highlights that GambleAware is the principal funding body for RET (research, education, treatment). The gross gambling yield for those operators in 2016/17 was £10.7bn, and they collectively contributed over £8m to GambleAware. In addition, the industry also made donations directly to charities providing support for those suffering from gambling related harm, and funded other initiatives such as Senet’s ‘When The Fun Stops Stop’ campaign. In 2016/17 Senet funding was £1.7m. In January 2017 the Gambling Commission’s expert advisers, the Responsible Gambling Strategy Board (RGSB) estimated that £9.3m, excluding GambleAware costs, would be required in 2017/18 to support the strategic priorities for RET that it had identified. The consultation on proposals for changes to Gaming Machines and Social Responsibility, published on 31 October, makes clear that government expects the gambling industry to increase funding to meet the targets for future years identified in the RGSB and GambleAware strategies.

Broadband: Business Premises

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport what the change in the number of premises with access to superfast broadband was in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK between 2014 and 2016.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the change in the number of premises with access to superfast broadband between 2015 and 2016 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK.

Matt Hancock: We do not hold such figures.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the change in access to superfast broadband in rural areas in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK between 2015 and 2016.

Matt Hancock: The Department does not hold data which distinguishes broadband coverage between rural and urban areas.

Broadband: Small Businesses

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of changes in the level of access to superfast broadband for SMEs in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the UK between 2015 and 2016.

Matt Hancock: The Department does not hold data which distinguishes broadband coverage between home and business premises.

Broadband: Business Premises

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many UK premises have had  superfast or fibre broadband service made available as a result of UK government-funded projects.

Matt Hancock: The Government's Superfast Broadband Programme had provided superfast broadband coverage to 4,651,700 premises by September 2017.

Museums and Galleries: Opening Hours

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made on the effect of changes to local authority budgets on museum opening hours.

John Glen: The independent Mendoza Review of Museums, commissioned by the government and published on 14th November shows that 28% of Arts Council England-Accredited museums are operated by local authorities. These museums receive over £200 million per year from local government, and further funding from external sources. DCMS does not hold data on Local Authority museums’ operating hours. The Mendoza Review did find that some museums have responded to financial pressures in a number of ways, including changing their opening hours, and recognised that this can be appropriate where it ensures that the museum remains open and the collection can still be accessed and enjoyed by the public. We will continue to act on the Review’s findings, including recommendations relating to Local Authority museums, to ensure the entire sector feels supported.

Government Departments: Telephone Services

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) the Phone-paid Services Authority on call connection service access to helplines provided by (i) her Department and (ii) other UK Government Departments.

Matt Hancock: We hold regular discussions with Ofcom and the Phone-paid Services Authority (PSA) in relation to the regulation of premium rate services. Where the PSA has reason to believe that providers of such services may be in breach of their Code of Practice, they may investigate and in serious cases will refer them to its Code Adjudication Tribunal, which has the power to impose sanctions and orders, including fines, refunds to consumers and suspending the service in question.

Public Libraries: Databases

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what the cost is to the public purse of the complete Libraries Taskforce dataset?

John Glen: No assessment of the cost to the public purse has been made by the Department.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Brexit

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union to the House of Lords European Union Committee on 31 October, how many civil servants his Department (a) has recruited and (b) expects to recruit to work on leaving the EU.

Chloe Smith: Exiting the European Union is an all-of-government operation. The Department for Exiting the European Union is doing detailed work with departments to prepare for the upcoming negotiations by understanding the risks and opportunities of leaving the EU and coordinating planning. EU exit affects a number of work areas across my Department and will therefore encompass a proportion of workload for many staff, the amount of which will vary over time. My Department has recently restructured its approach to the way it handles EU exit work, moving from a central EU exit co-ordinating team of 7 to a position in which core EU exit work is distributed more widely across the whole department. The number of staff working on leaving the EU will be kept under review to ensure we have the appropriate resources available. Given the interactions between EU exit work and my Department’s other priorities, it would not be possible to give an accurate figure in relation to future recruitment.

Department of Health

Mental Health Services: Kent

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what percentage of patients who are the responsibility of Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley clinical commissioning group are contacted within seven days after being discharged from hospital on the Care Programme Approach.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Latest available information from NHS England showed that for NHS Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Clinical Commissioning Group, 90.5% of patients on the Care Programme Approach were followed up within seven days after discharge from psychiatric inpatient care. NHS England publishes this information on a quarterly basis at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/mental-health-community-teams-activity/

Patients: Proof of Identity

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether any assessment has been made of the effect on access to healthcare by UK citizens who do not have a passport of requiring patients to show ID before they can access healthcare.

Mr Philip Dunne: There is no requirement for patients to show ID before they can access healthcare and therefore no assessment has been made of the effect on access to healthcare by United Kingdom citizens who do not have a passport. However, providing two forms of identification to help in determining patients’ chargeable status has recently been piloted in some National Health Service trusts and a full independent evaluation of these pilots is currently underway. The UK has a residence based health care system and entitlement to free NHS care is largely based on being ordinarily resident in the UK , or being otherwise exempt from charge under the NHS (Charges to Overseas Visitors) Regulations. A passport cannot alone demonstrate if someone is ordinarily resident in the UK and therefore eligible for free NHS care and holding a passport does not guarantee the same rights as someone who is ordinarily resident in England.

Essential Tremor: Medical Treatments

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the patient benefits of MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for treatment-resistant essential tremor.

Steve Brine: The National Institute for Heath and Care Excellence (NICE) is developing interventional procedure guidance on MRI-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy for treatment-resistant essential tremor and the anticipated publication date is 21 February 2018. NICE’s interventional procedures guidance looks at whether procedures are safe enough and work well enough for wider use in the National Health Service.

NHS: Directors

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list all above inflation salary increases or bonus schemes for Directors of NHS Bodies in the last two years.

Mr Philip Dunne: Information on above inflation salary increases for directors of National Health Service bodies is not collected centrally. This information is held locally by individual employers. Information on bonus schemes for directors of NHS bodies other than for NHS ambulance trusts and NHS community trusts is not collected centrally. The information for director bonuses in NHS ambulance trusts and NHS community trusts is set out in the table below: NHS BodyNo of Bonuses 2015/16Total £ 2015/16No of Bonuses 2016/17Total £ 2016/17NHS Ambulance Trusts1£2,741Not available yetNot available yetNHS Community Trusts9£22,426Not available yetNot available yet Bonus payments can be made locally by the other NHS bodies and this information will be held locally. All board level director pay including bonuses is published annually by employers in annual reports.

Essential Tremor: Medical Treatments

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure patients suffering from essential tremor have access to the latest treatments on the NHS.

Steve Brine: Common treatments for essential tremor include medications such as beta blockers, anti-epileptic drugs and sedatives. Injections of botulinum toxin may also be considered, as may surgery, but these approaches to treatment are less common. It is the responsibility of clinicians, in discussion with patients, to agree the most appropriate course of treatment, taking into account a patient’s medical history, and their individual circumstances and preferences. New treatments may be brought into routine use in the National Health Service after their safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness have been appropriately demonstrated. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) was established as the independent expert body responsible for developing robust, evidence based guidance for the NHS. NICE is currently developing guidance on the use of an intervention involving focused ultrasound to treat essential tremor. More information can be found at following link:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-ipg10053

Health Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will undertake a full public consultation prior to approving the establishment of any Accountable Care Organisations.

Steve Brine: NHS England recently published a draft Accountable Care Organisation (ACO) contract. This contract is a variant of the NHS Standard Contract and is designed to assist local commissioners to commission an integrated package of primary medical services and other health (and possibly social care) services for a defined population from a single lead provider referred to as an Accountable Care Organisation. An ACO is “established” only by the award of such a contract. Any decision as to whether to award a single ACO contract is one for local commissioners. There is no obligation on the Secretary of State to conduct a full public consultation on the introduction of accountable care models or the commissioning of ACOs. NHS England intends to permit a small number of clinical commissioning groups, under its oversight, to use locally developed versions of its draft ACO contract to commission ACOs for their populations. The learning from this will inform any future development of the draft ACO contract. NHS England has committed to consulting on the draft ACO contract before any decision is made to issue it as a contract for wider use in the National Health Service, in accordance with its duties under regulation 18 of its Standing Rules (SI 2012/2996). The consultation conducted by NHS England under regulation 18 will offer an opportunity for scrutiny of the proposed ACO contract before it is published for general use. To enable the draft contract to be tested NHS England has requested the Secretary of State to make amendments to a number of regulations. The Department has consulted publicly on those changes to regulations. This consultation closed on 3 November. We are currently considering the responses and whether any further regulatory changes may be needed. The Government will formally respond in due course. It will always be for local commissioners to determine how to best deliver services to meet local needs. It is right that decisions on local services and service models are made by local commissioners, who can best assess how to meet the needs of people in their area. For any significant system reconfiguration, we expect all local parts of the system to be talking to the public and stakeholders regularly — it is vital that people can shape the future of their local services.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111406 on prescriptions: fees and charges, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for that increase in the number of penalty charge notices.

Steve Brine: The increase in the number of penalty charge notices issued is due to increased volumes of prescriptions going through the checking regime. This allows the National Health Service to effectively tackle prescription fraud and error made by patients, and recover associated monies for the NHS.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the answer of 13 November to Question 111406 on prescriptions: fees and charges, how much has been (a) charged in and (b) collected from penalty charge notices in each of the last 36 months.

Steve Brine: The following chart represents the monthly breakdown in each of the last 36 months relating to charges issued and collected from penalty charge notices. Year/ MonthCharges Issued (£)Payment collected (£)2014/October464,639.0877,463.392014/November729,535.74123,077.812014/December1,738,208.19291,737.942015/January3,357,993.41593,206.572015/February3,682,748.52737,073.592015/March2,050,248.04556,904.682015/April569,456.48149,106.962015/May1,672,322.83431,110.712015/June2,067,124.93481,245.012015/July1,598,803.30299,177.422015/August2,076,554.30342,327.432015/September4,074,242.23904,395.522015/October4,752,374.40968,679.692015/November5,742,495.601,187,553.372015/December3,108,895.30653,117.322016/January6,211,078.501,252,197.652016/February6,244,879.101,374,570.942016/March4,926,038.551,034,297.682016/April4,355,845.10870,177.172016/May5,651,227.001,122,984.812016/June5,564,509.601,069,628.552016/July6,137,291.401,126,545.032016/August5,712,643.201,081,300.122016/September6,050,859.601,144,175.612016/October8,726,222.201,572,752.072016/November8,065,506.001,447,962.862016/December4,043,833.80707,386.602017/January8,043,492.601,333,395.582017/February9,281,889.801,732,237.152017/March9,828,862.801,748,338.142017/April5,066,204.60866,304.032017/May7,459,529.601,207,927.742017/June6,278,574.201,319,117.962017/July7,240,940.501,467,334.192017/August8,267,516.801,633,639.922017/September7,184,473.301,218,055.11Total178,027,060.5634,126,506.32

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2017 to Question 111406, what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction of universal credit on the number of penalty charge notices issued in respect of wrongly claimed NHS prescriptions.

Steve Brine: No such assessment has been made. Claimants of Universal Credit will be entitled to free National Health Service prescriptions if their earnings for the most recent assessment period are below prescribed thresholds. These individuals are not yet identifiable within the NHS Business Services Authority data because a separate exemption category on the reverse of the prescription form is not yet in place.

NHS Trusts: Subsidiary Companies

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many subsidiary companies are being established by (a) individual NHS and Foundation Trusts and (b) multiple Trusts for the purpose of sharing services.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not collected centrally. Foundation trusts report 39 subsidiaries, although the purpose for which these were established is not available.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) powers and (b) responsibilities have been conferred on the Care Quality Commission to regulate fees charged by private nursing homes.

Jackie Doyle-Price: As the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is responsible for deciding its own regulatory inspection and assessment framework. The CQC has no power to regulate fees charged by private nursing homes – or any other registered provider. However, the CQC (Registration) Regulations 2009: Regulation 19 places an obligation on registered providers to provide timely and accurate information about the cost of their care and treatment to people who use services. To meet this regulation, providers must make written information available about any fees, contracts and terms and conditions, where people are paying either in full or in part for the cost of their care, treatment and support. This can be assessed as part of a CQC inspection, and the CQC has the power to prosecute providers for a breach of the whole or part of this regulation. The CQC will refuse registration if providers cannot provide satisfactory assurance that they can and will continue to comply with this regulation.

Abortion

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions on the grounds of rectification were performed (a) after 24 weeks' gestation and (b) in each week of gestation after that week in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Department does not record information on whether a disability is rectifiable. Abortion data are recorded by ICD-10 code and published in annual reports, split by gestation (all gestations, and gestations 24 weeks and over). The most recent data for the year 2016 is published in table 9a in the below link:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/652084/Abortion_stats_England_Wales_2016_tables.xlsx

Breast Milk

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will produce guidelines to regulate the sharing of human breast milk.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to fund human milk banks.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what consideration he has given to establishing a network of human milk banks.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of human milk bank provision across the UK.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced a guideline on the safe operation of milk banks. This was published in 2010, reviewed in 2014 and is next due for review in 2019. The guideline covers how donor milk banks should recruit, screen and support women who donate breast milk. It also covers how milk banks should handle and process the breast milk they receive from donors. This is available at:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG93There are no plans to change the way milk banks are funded, which is through a mix of National Health Service funding and public donations. There is already a network of 16 milk banks across the United Kingdom (14 are in England, with one each in Northern Ireland and one in Scotland). Further information is available on the website of the UK Association for Milk Banking at:http://www.ukamb.org/milk-banks/No assessment has been made of the adequacy of human milk bank provision across the UK. Local initiatives are underway to maximise provision – for example, milk banks in Glasgow and Oxford are piloting the use of a novel traffic light system so that the babies at most need are prioritised when milk stocks run low. Also, the NICE guideline includes recommendations that have led to improvements in how milk banks operate. Revised criteria for the microbiological acceptance of donor breast milk have led to higher volumes being available due to lower discard rates.

Patients: Transport

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to review transport services for older people to attend hospital appointments.

Steve Brine: The provision of appropriate patient transport services is a matter for local National Health Service commissioners.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many universal credit claimants have been investigated for fraudulently claiming free prescriptions; and in how many of those investigations claimants were found to have ticked an incorrect box on the reverse of the prescription form.

Steve Brine: No such assessment has been made. Data on individuals claiming an exemption from the prescription charge due to being in receipt of universal credit and meeting the prescribed earnings thresholds is not yet available to be collected by the NHS Business Services Authority.

Prescriptions

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what date the (a) NHS prescription form (FP10), (b) claims for NHS-funded sight tests (GOS 1) and (c) vouchers for glasses or contact lenses (GOS 3) will be amended to include a universal credit tick box.

Steve Brine: The FP10 (National Health Service prescription form), GOS1 (NHS Sight Test form) and GOS3 (NHS Optical Voucher form) are being revised to include an exemption box for Universal Credit (UC). All forms will be printed in 2018 and will be circulated as soon as existing stocks are depleted. In the meantime, advice for patients in receipt of UC who meet criteria for help with health costs, should tick the box labelled Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance on the FP10/GOS1 or GOS3 and where possible, show their UC award notice as evidence of their entitlement.

Doctors: Resignations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many doctors have left employment in the NHS in each year for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows the number of doctors who left employment in the National Health Service each year at 30 June since 2010. June data is provided as this is the latest publicly available data for leavers from the NHS. NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): HCHS doctor leavers from the NHS in England, in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups, between 30 June and 30 June 2010 to 2017, headcount. Doctors (Headcount)2010 to 20112011 to 20122012 to 20132013 to 20142014 to 20152015 to 20162016 to 2017Leavers14,28915,19716,20315,46815,57417,26716,201Source: NHS Digital, NHS HCHS workforce statistics. This data does not separately identify those doctors who may have taken a break from employment for e.g. maternity leave or a career break or those that may have switched to become a general practitioner. Since 2010 the NHS has over 14,900 more doctors working in the NHS.

NHS: Nurses

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many qualified nurses were (a) working as nurses and (b) not working as nurses in the NHS in each year for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and collects data for nurses and health visitors employed by the National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), as bank and practice staff. This information is available from their publications page on the NHS Digital website at the following links: Substantive qualified nurses and health visitors employed by the NHS trusts and CCGs figures are available in the monthly stats:https://digital.nhs.uk/media/34061/NHS-Workforce-Statistics-August-2017-National-and-HEE-tables/xls/NHS_Workforce_Statistics__August_2017_National_and_HEE_tablesNurses and health visitors employed as bank staff are available in quarterly stats:https://digital.nhs.uk/media/32410/Bank-staff-in-NHS-Trusts-and-CCGs-June-2017/xls/Bank_staff_in_NHS_Trusts_and_CCGs__June_2017Nurses and health visitors employed by general practitioner practices are available in bi-annual stats:http://digital.nhs.uk/media/32064/General-Practice-Bulletin-Tables-March-2017/xls/General_Practice_Bulletin_Tables_March_20171Data for nurses and health visitors employed by agencies and the independent sector is not held centrally. Data for qualified nurses which are not working as nurses in the NHS is also not collected. This is England only data and data for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is a matter for each of the governments in the devolved administrations.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 November to Question 111756, how many staff were employed by a mental health trust at June each year to 2017 who were employed by a primary care trust at June 2013.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Digital publishes monthly workforce statistics and the following table shows the number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff employed by a mental health trust at June each year who were employed by a primary care trust at June 2013.  June-2014June-2015June-2016June-2017Staff employed by a mental health trust who were employed by a Primary Care Trust at June 2013 (FTE)976929913858Source: NHS Digital monthly workforce statistics

Eating Disorders: Health Services

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much and what proportion of funding made available by NHS England for eating disorders has been allocated to Tier Two providers specialising in early intervention.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected.

Eating Disorders: Medical Treatments

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether NHS England places a requirement on clinical commissioning groups to consider third sector organisations when commissioning interventions and treatments for eating disorders?

Jackie Doyle-Price: In the case of services for people with eating disorders, as with a range of other mental health services, the voluntary sector has an important role to play in providing access to care, treatment and support. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) are required to commission services from the most appropriate provider, taking into consideration local need and the capacity of local providers to respond. NHS England is implementing the delivery of new and expanded community eating disorder teams for children and young people, some of which deliver care in partnership with the voluntary sector. In addition, the guidance for local transformation plans for children and young people’s mental health care stated that CCGs should work with local partners, including voluntary sector organisations, in the development and updating of plans.

Eating Disorders: Medical Treatments

Mr Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much and what proportion of the total spent by the NHS on treating eating disorders has been allocated to the treatment of people aged (a) seventeen and under and (b) eighteen and over in each of the last three years?

Jackie Doyle-Price: The information requested is not collected.

Drugs: Death

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many drug-related deaths there have been where a person previously sought treatment for addiction in each of the last three years.

Steve Brine: Data on the number of drug-related deaths where a person previously sought treatment for addiction are not held in the requested format.

Secure Psychiatric Units: Domestic Visits

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2017 to Question 114731, if he will publish the name of the 15 mental health places that he has visited since July 2016.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The names of the 15 mental health facilities my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has visited since July 2016 are: NHS TrustHospital / Site2gether NHS Foundation TrustWotton Lawn HospitalAvon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS TrustCallington Road HospitalBerkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustProspect Park HospitalLincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation TrustAsh Villa HospitalMersey Care NHS Foundation TrustClock View HospitalNorth Bristol NHS TrustSouthmead HospitalNorthumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation TrustFerndeneNorthumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation TrustHopewood Park HospitalNorthumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation TrustNorthumbria Specialist Emergency Care HospitalPennine Care NHS Foundation TrustJohn Elliott UnitRoyal Cornwall Hospitals NHS TrustRoyal Cornwall HospitalSheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation TrustN/ASomerset Partnership NHS Foundation TrustHolford Ward – Psychiatric Intensive Care UnitSouth London and Maudsley NHS Foundation TrustMaudsley HospitalUniversity Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation TrustBristol Royal Infirmary

Respiratory System: Diseases

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October to Question 106938 on respiratory system: diseases, if he will make an assessment of the long-term cost to a persons health of living in a cold home.

Steve Brine: NHS England and Public Health England advise that there are currently no plans to make an assessment of the long-term cost to a person’s health of living in a cold home. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued guidance which covers reducing the health risks (including preventable deaths) associated with living in a cold home.

Hospitals: Discharges

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department have taken to ensure that patients are not discharged before a care plan has been put in place.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Patients must only be discharged from hospital when it is safe to do so and they have reached the point where care and any on-going assessment can be safely continued in a non-acute setting. Where a patient is likely to need on-going social care support after being discharged, the Care Act 2014 requires the National Health Service to notify the relevant local authority of the patient’s likely need for social care. Where the patient is unlikely to be safely discharged without arrangements for such support being put in place, the NHS must issue an assessment notice to the local authority and must give at least 24 hours’ notice of when it intends to discharge the patient to allow appropriate arrangements to be put in place.

Phenylketonuria: Medical Treatments

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has plans to increase access to sapropterin for phenylketonuria.

Ms Harriet Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to allow NHS England to negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to improve access to treatments for phenylketonuria.

Steve Brine: There are two policies relating to Sapropterin (Kuvan). The first allows for access to sapropterin for women with phenylketonuria (PKU) who are pregnant and cannot maintain appropriate PKU levels with their diet. This can be found at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-e/e09/For the remaining patients, sapropterin is not routinely funded. This policy can be found at:https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-e/e06/ This second policy is currently in the process of being reviewed, with a decision expected in 2018. This will involve evaluating any new clinical evidence that has been developed since this policy was originally formed. NHS England has a number of mechanisms available to secure access to medicines in secondary care from pharmaceutical companies. For example, the Commercial Medicines Unit undertakes procurements through framework agreements that enable individual trusts to purchase medicines at the framework price. Where medicines have been approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, a patient access scheme may be in place to allow the National Health Service to benefit from a discounted price. The mechanism used will depend on the medicine in any given case.

Spinal Muscular Atrophy: Medical Treatments

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the timetable is for a decision to be made on the authorisation of spinroza as an NHS treatment for people who suffer from spinal muscular atrophy; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Brine: We have assumed the hon. Member is referring to Spinraza. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) received a formal ministerial referral for nusinersen (Spinraza) to treat spinal muscular atrophy and this topic has been scheduled into its work programme. The appraisal process is anticipated to begin in January 2018 and the deadline for an evidence submission is anticipated to be March 2018. Although no further details about timescales for the development of guidance are available at this stage, NICE take approximately nine months to develop guidance on new drug depending on the individual product.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of changes in the level of local authority funding on the provision of mental health services for young people.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Alongside health partners, local authorities have an important role to play in supporting improvements in children and young people’s mental health. Local Transformation Plans, first developed and published in 2015/16 and covering the whole country, support clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and other agencies to plan their approach to improving these services together in an effective and cost-efficient way. The Department is making a record £1.4 billion of additional investment available to support this transformation. The proposals in the Green Paper on Children and Young People’s Mental Health build on this further. The Government recognises the important role that councils play in helping to provide local community services, and local authorities in England will have access to more than £200 billion to deliver these services between 2015/16 and 2019/20 giving them the flexibility to spend according to locally determined priorities.

Prime Minister

Members: Correspondence

Justin Madders: To ask the Prime Minister, when she plans to respond the letter of 8 November 2017 from the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston on the Ministerial and Other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991.

Mrs Theresa May: A reply will be sent shortly.